


One wicked love

by Evil_Panda



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Coming Out, Dark Character, Dark Magic, Drama & Romance, F/F, Falling In Love, Feels, Flirting, Gay Sex, Lesbian Character, Love, Love Confessions, Self-Discovery, Sex, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Tragic Romance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 17:17:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8410033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evil_Panda/pseuds/Evil_Panda
Summary: What would have happened if the pure evil had a real body? Would this thing affect the cold-hearted Regina? Let’s find out! I do not own the OUAT characters but Pandora –okay, this is a spoiler- is my character and I own it. The same goes for the storyline. Please, enjoy and let me know if you like it!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, guys, I want to say that English is not my mother language and I’m sorry for the mistakes. :) Regina Mills will be the main character here and the story is settled in Storybrooke.

“Houston, we have a problem”, stated Emma after she settled herself near Regina. The former Evil Queen was having a drink at Granny’s and her mood was not entirely great. Not even close to good. For some reason she was thinking about Robin all day and her head was in deep pain. Just like her heart. She was staring at her glass the whole time. She didn’t even bother to glance at Emma when she sat next to her.

“Regina? I’m talking to you”, Emma coughed.

“What do you want?”, Regina snapped. _What was that?_ She was being rude. With a deep sigh, she turned her head and looked at the savior.

“Is everything alright?”, the blonde asked, obviously worried. Regina lowered her head and decided to take a sip from her drink. The scotch burnt her throat and she remained silent. What could she say, anyway? She didn’t want to talk about Robin again. She could feel that everyone was looking at her with compassion, like she was a heartbroken child. God, how much she hated that. She lost her great love but she could survive this. The one thing she couldn’t handle was the feeling of being lonely. Of course she had her family and friends but no one really understood her. No one knew her to the full. Not even Robin. Nor Zelena.

“Everything’s fine”, the brunette said after a good minute or two. _What a fucking lie._ “You were talking about a problem”, she changed the subject of their conversation quickly.

“Guess what!”, Emma faked a huge smile. The former Evil Queen looked at her indifferently and Emma continued. “You are not the most evil bitch in this town!”

“Ha ha. So funny”, the brunette glared at her.

“No, seriously”, Emma looked at her. “Okay, you are not a bitch and you certainly are not evil anymore but…”, she trailed off. “Gold did something.”

Regina frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He tried to stop Henry from destroying the magic…”, the blonde grimaced.

“I knew he would try but…”, Regina gathered her magic power to her left hand and a fireball appeared. A moment later was gone. “…apparently he failed. So?”

“So…”, the savior breathed heavily. “He managed to separate dark from light magic.”

Regina’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Care to explain?”

“Well…”, Emma sighed. “He brought back to life a dark creature.”

“What the hell?”, the brunette mumbled. “A monster?”

“No. Not a monster.”

“So? What is it?”, Regina questioned.

“Let’s go”, Emma stood up. “You should see it.”

Regina didn’t even move. She was kidding, right?

“Come on, Regina”, the blonde growled. “She is harmless.”

 _She? The monster was female?_ Without asking anything else, Regina pulled herself up from the chair and followed the savior outside. She was curious to find out what was that monster that Gold brought back to life…

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

A few minutes later, they arrived outside Emma’s house. Regina assumed that the monster was nowhere near there because the road was deserted and the savior’s house was dipped in full darkness. Her suspicions proved right when Emma gestured her to enter her yellow bug. Here we go. There’s a ride.

_I hate this metal coffin of hers._

Rolling her eyes, the brunette pushed herself into that awful metallic thing. Emma sensed her discomfort once she started driving away.

“Please, don’t hate my bug”, she smiled.

Regina huffed. “I’m in a bad mood and my day is getting worst”, she blurted out.

_Oh shit._

“I’m here if you want to talk”, the blonde moved her hand and caressed Regina’s hair gently.

_Oh. That move._

The brunette just nodded and averted her gaze, looking outside the window. She was close with the savior but not _that_ close. They had shared a kiss once, long time ago but that was it. Regina was not with Robin back then and Emma was dealing with some issues with the pirate. The kiss though was passionate. She could still remember the taste of her lips on hers. _Sweet…_ They never talked about it. They acted like it never happed and that was alright with Regina. She didn’t want to dive in the deep, dark waters of homoerotism. _Not just yet, anyways._

Her thoughts faded once Emma stopped the car and she realized that they were in the woods. Emma got out of the car and Regina followed her. She could spot Gold, Snow and David but nothing more. It was pitch dark. She neared the others with Emma and her gaze wandered around.

“So, why are we h--..”, her sentence remained unfinished once she laid eyes on the road. _Oh, dear God._ The scene was… horrible. Blood everywhere. A human mass was attached to the road and two huge wings were discarded nearby. Her stomach swirled by that view. _What the hell happened here?_

“Is she dead?”, Emma questioned with steady voice. Gold looked at her with a smirk on his face.

“Are you stupid?”, he chuckled. “Find me someone who can kill the pure wickedness and I will disappear from the face of the earth!”

“Challenge accepted”, said Emma coldly and folded her arms across her chest.

“This is ridiculous!”, Regina groaned. She couldn’t take it anymore. “Can someone fill me in?!”

“Regina…”, Snow looked at her in shock. “Calm down…”

“Now!”, the former Evil Queen yelled.

“This is my fault”, Gold stated and all of them turned to look at him.

“No shit!”, Emma said ironically.

“Seriously, now, Miss Swan?!”, Regina huffed, annoyed.

Emma frowned when she heard her last name but cut the bullshit.

“As I said…”, Gold sighed. “…it’s my fault. I woke up an ancient power by using a wrong spell while I was trying to prevent Henry from destroying the magic.”

“You used a wrong spell?”, David shook his head in disbelief.

“Yes”, Gold nodded. “One wrong word and the spell changed.”

_Really? I mean, seriously?_

“Who is she?”, Regina stepped in the conversation again.

“Pandora”, the older man replied.

“Pandora who?”, Snow frowned.

“Pandora was the first woman on Earth.”, Gold started. “Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create her. So he did, using water and earth. The gods endowed her with many gifts: Athena clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty, Apollo gave her musical ability, and Hermes gave her speech. According to Hesiod, when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. Pandora opened a jar containing death and many other evils which were released into the world. She hastened to close the container, but the whole contents had escaped except for one thing that lay at the bottom – Elpis”, Gold explained.

_What on Earth?!_

They looked at him like he was an alien. Regina remembered Pandora’s Box and all the stories that followed it. _She was the pure wickedness._ Averting her gaze from Gold, she laid eyes on that human mass. She couldn’t see the woman’s face because it was concealed by long, black hair but she noticed the severe wounds on her back. Someone –or something- had managed to cut out her huge, black wings.

“Who did that to her?”, the brunette asked, pointing with her index finger the wings.

“I had to”, Gold stated and received a glare from Regina.

_Leave it, Regina._

“Emma said she is harmless”, the former Evil Queen sighed. “And why is that?”

“Because I can’t kill you with my own hands”, a fresh voice sounded and they all turned to look at Pandora immediately.

Gold used his magic powers to raise Pandora’s body from the ground and the female whimpered painfully. Regina –as well as the others- gasped once her face appeared behind the dark locks. She was heavenly beautiful. Her skin was pale and she was slim. _The face though._ Almond shaped eyes in grey color, long and thick lashes, plump lips and rosy cheeks. Once the female turned her head to look at the sky, the moon appeared behind the clouds and gave her shimmering glow to her sallow skin. _It was divine…_ She looked like an angel. Pandora lowered her head and a deep, painful moan escaped her lips. Regina felt like her heart was being torn.

“Gave her the wings back!”, the brunette exclaimed enraged.

Gold chuckled. “Are you out of your mind?”, he stared at her. “Of course not”

Pandora shook her hands violently in an attempt to break those magic bounds around her but she utterly failed. It was then, when she first laid eyes upon Regina. Her gaze was penetrating and made the brunette stir. Emma and Snow looked at Regina quizzically but she was unable to avert her gaze from that female creature. Her eyes were like liquid lead.

“The Evil Queen…”, Pandora whispered and it was the first time that everybody noticed how melodic her voice was. _Wow…_

“She is not the Evil Queen anymore!”, Snow hastened to respond.

“Hush!”, Pandora spat out the word with hatred. “You… little wench…”, her voice low and filled with rage as she looked at Snow. The woman took a step back, like she wanted to avoid invisible daggers. Emma growled warningly and Pandora turned her head to her, smirking.

“You…”, the woman with the grey eyes tilted her pretty head as she stared at Emma. “You were a disgraceful specimen of the Dark Ones. You managed to humiliate the wickedness. Just like Rumpelstiltskin over here”, she glanced at the older man. “Let’s not forget Zelena, of course, who thought that jealousy is the same thing with wickedness. Maleficent is a whole different matter. She failed to let go of her daughter. Stupid female. Cruella was…”, she paused, thoughtful. “…incredible.”, finally said. “But even Hades was a complete and utter failure. He fell in love with the green, jealous cat.”, she huffed. “But you, my precious Evil Queen…”, she softened as she locked eyes with the brunette. “…you were my favorite.”

Her voice, like liquid gold, warmed Regina’s heart and she swallowed thickly.

“How do you know all these things?”, finally asked the former Evil Queen.

“I used to live in all of you”, the female replied.

_What? Wait a second…_

“You were the evil in our hearts…”, Regina mumbled as realization hit her like a thunderstorm.

“So, now that you are here, the evil is far away from our hearts”, said David.

“As long as I am alive and my spirit is effective, the wickedness will not vanish”, the beautiful female explained.

“Can’t we just kill her and get this over with?”, Emma burst out. A filthy smile formed on Pandora’s lips at once and Regina quickly noticed it.

“No, we can’t”, said Gold. “Unless she falls in love with someone and that someone falls in love with her in return. It’s merely impossible.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”, Emma yelled at his face. “Who would fall in love with the pure wickedness??”

“Oh, this is not the problem”, the older man smirked. “The problem is that Pandora doesn’t know what love is.”

Regina kept looking at Pandora’s eyes that were never leaving hers. In a blink of an eye, the former Evil Queen raised her hand and the wings magically rose up in the air. Gold growled enraged and tried to stop her but everything happened so fast.

“Do it…”, Pandora whispered while staring at the brunette and it was the only thing that someone could hear. The wings clung on her back and Gold’s magic bounds vanished from around her. Black mist started to swirl around Pandora and they all stepped back. It covered her for some seconds but then… _oh, then…_ a dazzling light thrashed the black mist and Pandora rose up from the ground with her huge wings waving behind her back, delicately. The view was breathtaking. _Oh, no, this is an understatement for sure._ She looked like a dark angel. A gorgeous, dark angel with divine beauty and mesmerizing, gleaming skin. A black piece of silk was covering her body. Pandora flapped her wings twice in the air and a cold breeze hit their faces, causing goosebumps to all of them. Everyone covered their eyes to protect them from the dust but Regina didn’t stop looking at the dark angel. Pandora stepped on the ground, before Regina and encircled the brunette with her black wings, giving them privacy for a second or two.

“Thank you…”, the dark angel mumbled with a devious smile and Regina, still taken by the moment, just nodded in return. The next moment, Pandora was flying away.

“Do you have any idea, what you did?!”, Gold growled but Regina was looking at the sky, trying to spot Pandora but the winged female was long gone.

“What was that for, Regina??”, Emma huffed.

“Oh my God…”, Snow leaned to David and he hugged her.

“She can’t kill us with her bare hands but she can make us kill each other anytime she wants!”, Gold revealed and they snapped their heads to him, in shock.

_Oh, fuck no… What have I done?_

“Deal with it, your majesty”, the older man hissed and disappeared in a purple mist.

“Fuck!”, Emma glared at Regina. “You are a waste of time!”

_A waste of time? Emma would never say that to her. Maybe Pandora’s plan had started working already._

“You suck, your majesty”, the blonde said angrily and walked away along with her parents, leaving behind a confused Regina.

What could she do now that she gave power to Pandora? And, oh my gosh, that female was a divine creature. Who could possibly think that she was worst than devil itself? Regina looked at the blood trails on the road and sighed. She helped someone unworthy. _Well done, your majesty._ Oh, fuck it. I will deal with it later. The brunette took in a sharp breath and lowered her head as purple mist covered her and she disappeared from the woods.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is feeling weak before Pandora's grace and is no other than Regina Mills. They want to kill her but the only way is true, mutual love. It sounds impossible, right? Let's see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys I said that I would update the story every 3 days but the 2nd chapter was ready....so why not now? :))

“I’m sorry”, Emma sighed, looking at the brunette. Regina was lost in her thoughts again. The office was immersed in light but her heart was foggy. She let out a heavy breath as she turned her head to look outside the window.

“What for?”, the former Evil Queen asked.

“For the things I said the other day”, explained the savior.

“Oh.”

“Are you okay, Regina?”, the blonde questioned worried. Regina closed her eyes tightly for a second but then she opened them again with a deep sigh. She said nothing though. “What were you thinking, Regina? I mean, seriously. It was a mistake.”

“I don’t know…”, the brunette mumbled. She didn’t really know why she had done that.

“We will never be able to kill her”, Emma commented and Regina snapped her head to her immediately. The blonde looked at her quizzically. “Don’t tell me, you don’t want to kill her!”

The former Evil Queen shrugged. “Maybe we can find something else…”

“Did you hear Gold?”, Emma sighed. “She can make us kill each other.”

“Oh, come on, Emma!”, Regina huffed. “Do you really believe him?”

“Don’t you?”, the savior’s eyebrows shot up.

“No!”, the brunette stood up from the chair and folded her arms across her chest, staring at Emma. “Pandora said…”, she paused, feeling a strange sting in her heart once she said out loud the dark angel’s name but she continued. “…said that she used to live in all of us. So allow me to know more! I was the Evil Queen!”

Emma frowned.

“What Gold said was true, though”, said the blonde. “The only way someone can vanquish her is true love. Henry found her story in the book.”

_Oh, God, no…_

“So… She has to fall in love with someone”, stated Regina.

“And that someone must fall in love with her”, the blonde shrugged. “Like I said, we are doomed.”

“Why?”

“ _Why?”_ , the savior chuckled. “Seriously, Regina, you are a smart woman. Think about it. Maybe she is gorgeous but she is a monster and no one would ever fall in love with her. Moreover, she is incapable of feeling love.”

Regina nodded without saying anything back. She walked up to the window and looked outside, feeling the urge to disappear. Lowering her head, she exhaled and closed her eyes but Pandora’s eyes invaded her mind, instantly. It was a big mistake to give power to Pandora. She practically opened their graves. She was now responsible for their fate. _Great._ Oh, how much she hated that feeling of being weak.

When she felt Emma’s hand on her shoulder from behind she stirred but she didn’t open her eyes.

“Excuse me…”, the brunette whispered and in a blink of an eye, purple mist covered her and she disappeared. She wanted to be by herself.

Few minutes later, she found herself next to the borders of the town. Pandora’s blood was still on the road. Regina shook her head, disappointed as she walked closer and looked at the blood trails. She spotted a feather, little farther from where she was and she summoned it with her magic powers. The silky, black feather landed in her hand and her spine shivered. A location spell, wouldn’t do any harm, right? She sighed and put the feather inside her pocket. _You’re out of your fucking mind, Regina._

“Maybe, you are”, a silky voice sounded behind Regina’s back and the former Evil Queen gasped, without turning around.

_Shit, shit, shit. Pandora…_

“You can read my mind…”, Regina mumbled.

“Oh, yes, indeed I can”, the female responded casually.

Regina’s body stiffened and she shut her eyes tightly. Pandora was unable to kill her, but in all honesty Regina couldn’t care less about it.

“Nice smell”, the dark angel whispered close to the brunette’s ear.

_She is close…_

Regina stepped away from her and gathered her strength as she turned around and faced the gorgeous female. She gasped when grey eyes met with brown ones. Pandora was in a much better condition than yesterday. Her wings were shining, her skin had a radiant glow and her face was, _of course_ , flawless.

Pandora bowed before her slowly. _What on….?_

“I’m glad to see you again, your majesty”, said the female with lovely voice.

“I’m not a Queen anymore…”, Regina mumbled.

“You will always be a Queen.”

The brunette shook her head in denial. She didn’t really want to be evil. Not again. She had her family now and her friends. Being evil is a problem.

“I’ve lost my father, only because I wanted to cast a curse”, said the former Evil Queen and Pandora smirked.

“Don’t get me wrong, your majesty, but it was your choice”, said the dark angel.

“ _My choice?!”,_ Regina hissed, enraged. Her eyes were spitting fire but Pandora’s smirk grew bigger.

“Of course, it was”, said the beautiful female. “You chose the right path, otherwise Snow White would have been a Queen and you would be…nothing.”

“I’m the Queen!!”, Regina snapped. _What?_

“Oh, yes, you are…”, Pandora smiled.

Growling, the brunette, turned her back to the dark angel and brought her hands to her head. No, she was not the Queen but she was feeling like it. _Damn it…_

“That was not very lady-like, your majesty”, Pandora commented.

“Stay the hell out of my mind!”, the brunette snapped.

Flapping her wings in the air, Pandora rose up from the ground and landed just one foot away from Regina.

“Do you really want it?”, the beautiful dark angel questioned without smiling and caught Regina out of guard.

The brunette locked eyes with her and her heartbeat increased.

“Yes”, she finally replied coldly.

“Very well.”

“What?”, Regina frowned confused.

“Reading minds, it’s a gift I have but I can control it perfectly”, Pandora stepped back for some reason. “If you want me to stay out of your mind, I will do it.”

_Bullshit._

Regina’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

_Maybe you’re gorgeous but this pretty head of yours is empty!_

No reaction.

_Fuck. She stopped reading my mind._

Pandora’s grey orbs were looking at the former Evil Queen, indifferently. Regina sighed but a familiar sound of a growling stomach caused her a spontaneous snigger. The sound was coming from Pandora. The dark angel frowned as she looked down to her own stomach and then looked back at Regina.

“What?”, Pandora questioned.

“Obviously, you’re hungry”, the brunette smiled. Oh my gosh, the girl didn’t know anything about the human body and its functions. Apparently, she had no clue. “Is this the first time you have a human body?”

Pandora shook her head. “No. But I never needed human food to survive.”

“How is this even possible?”

“It is. I used to consume only ambrosia by Zeus’ hands”, Pandora explained.

“You were not a goddess”, Regina frowned.

“I was for Zeus”, the female shrugged.

_Oh. Possibly, a love affair. God, no. She can’t feel love. Yeah._

“Was he in love with you?”, the brunette succumbed to her curiosity.

“Yes, but I was not.”

_As expected._

“Anyway…”, Regina sighed. “You’re hungry. You must eat, otherwise you’ll die.”

Pandora smiled slyly.

“Isn’t it something you want?”, she questioned.

“No, it is not”, the former Evil Queen glared at her. It was true. She didn’t want her to die.

“Interesting…”, Pandora smiled deviously.

She found it interesting. Why? _Maybe_ _because she thinks that I’m a victim._ Correct thinking. Regina felt the urge to help her and protect her. That was wrong and she knew it deep down but the urge was strong and she couldn’t ignore it. Most likely, Pandora wanted to use her but Regina was willing to take that risk. For now, at least.

“Let’s go to my place. I have apple pie”, the brunette looked at the other.

“Apples. Your favorites”, Pandora commented with a smirk.

_She knows. But of course. She used to live inside of me._

Regina remained quiet as purple mist covered both of them and took them away from the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pandora is not entirely an original character, as you can see. She comes from Greek Mythology. Of course, I changed her story a little bit and that's why I said that I own her character. For example, Pandora was not a dark angel in the myth but i liked it that way. :)) I hope you enjoyed the 2nd chapter! More to come!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is Pandora's plan? What is she trying to do with Regina and Emma? Who is more cruel? Pandora, Regina or Emma? Let's find out ;))

Back to Regina’s mansion, the things were quite interesting. The brunette had placed a big plate filled with apple pie in front of the female but Pandora was looking at it with curiosity. Regina stopped for a moment and watched the other with a slight smile on her face. The scene was fascinating. Even though the kitchen was spacious, Pandora seemed like she didn’t fit in there. Her huge wings were licking the floor and when she flapped them, she broke two vases into pieces.

“I’m sorry…”, she looked at Regina with big, grey eyes.

The brunette smiled in return. “It’s fine”, she responded and gathered the broken porcelains with magic. “Give it a try”, Regina pointed the apple pie.

Pandora shifted her gaze back to the plate and grimaced.

_Oh… Maybe she doesn’t like the smell._

The dark angel sunk her index finger into the pie and smirked. Then, she pulled it out and licked it.

“Mmm…”, she groaned and in no time she grabbed the pie and started eating it with great appetite.

Regina took a seat next to Pandora and smiled, watching her eating. For a mere moment, her brown eyes wandered over the dark angel’s figure. The black, silky fabric she was wearing was alright but not great. She needed something more… More… _More what, Regina?_ More royal. But she was not a queen. Yes, but she was certainly royal. Her hair… Oh yes, her hair needed care. And her face…

“I’m dying to invade your mind”, said Pandora and pulled Regina out of her thoughts. She had finished eating and now her attention was fixed on Regina.

The brunette coughed nervously. “Did you like it?”

“I loved it”, the female smirked. “You are a great cook.”

“Thanks…”, the former Evil Queen mumbled and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“Upstairs. Wait right here”, said Regina and walked out of the kitchen.

She went upstairs to her bedroom and opened the wardrobe with a frown on her face. Pandora was tall –taller than her- and slim. She pulled out a long, white dress with lace. _White?_ Definitely, not. Black was her color. What about pants? _Seriously, Regina, you are stupid._ No, no. No pants. She searched the wardrobe for like ten minutes or so but her eyes shone when she found the most perfect dress for Pandora. It was satin, black and very long –even for her-, with spaghetti straps. She smiled as she grabbed it and walked downstairs back to the kitchen. She found Pandora right where she left her.

“Consider it as a gift from the Evil Queen!”, Regina blurted out without second thought and Pandora snapped her head to her side.

Her grey orbs wandered over the fine dress Regina was holding before her.

Tilting her head, she frowned. “Why are you so good to me?”, the dark angel questioned.

The brunette tightened the grip around the dress when she heard the question. She didn’t really know the correct answer so she decided to shrug.

“This is not an answer”, Pandora locked eyes with her.

“Just try it”, Regina left the dress on the table, in front of the female who took it and stood up. “Great. You can go upstairs to change.”

“There’s no reason”, the dark angel smirked and brought her wings forward, crossing them and covered her body. “See? I have these for multiple uses.”

Regina laughed and waited for the female to change. A minute later, Pandora pulled back her wings and revealed a perfect figure dressed in black silk. The brunette’s eyes wandered over her and she bit her bottom lip, exhaling. She was ethereal. A piece of art. Raising her left hand, Regina caressed Pandora’s face and her magic changed her appearance, as well as her hair. The lashes became thicker, the lips red and the grey eyes gained a thick line of black eye-liner. Her hair though seemed like a dark sea wave. All curls and waves.

“Oh my God…”, Regina mumbled, looking at her. She was definitely the most beautiful creature on earth.

“How do I look?”, the dark angel questioned.

“You are a sight for sore eyes…”, the former Evil Queen replied in low voice and instantly blushed. She shouldn’t say that.

“You like me?”, Pandora smirked and played with the straps of her dress.

Regina followed the movement of her fingers whilst she played with the straps and gulped. She looked away and coughed nervously, not knowing what to say. Pandora had that effect on her and it was irritating.

Out of the blue, the doorbell rang and pulled Regina out of her misery. She let out a breath and walked out of the kitchen, to the front door. Without thinking any longer, she opened the door and frowned when she saw the visitor.

“Emma? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you”, the blonde explained. “May I come in?”

_Oh shit, no. I have Pandora here._

Regina lowered her head, still not letting the other walk inside and sighed.

“This is not a good time, Emma.”

“Why?”

“Because I have a headache!”, the brunette almost growled at her. “Or maybe because I don’t want to hear anything from you!”

Emma looked at her, shocked. Of course, Regina was being unreasonable and she knew it but she didn’t really want to talk to her. Especially now that Pandora was in the next room.

“Gold had an idea. It’s about Pandora”, said Emma. “Please, let me in for a minute. It’s important.”

“Speak”, the brunette said sharply and didn’t move. She wouldn’t let Emma come inside the house at any cost.

Emma surrendered with a deep sigh and pulled out of her red jacket a wand.

“What is this thing?”, Regina frowned, looking at it. The wand was wooden with carvings and it had a small rock on its top. Maybe it was diamond, or sea glass.

“This wand can create a portal”, said the savior.

“Leading to where?”, the brunette narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like the conversation.

“Nowhere”, Emma shrugged.

“Excuse me?”

“If Pandora passes through the portal, she will be lost.”

“ _Lost?!”_ , Regina hissed.

“Yes, Regina!”, Emma lost patience. “She is dangerous and she doesn’t deserve any good!”

“Well done, savior!”, the former Evil Queen clapped her hands, mockingly. “You are such a great hero!”

“Seriously, now, Regina?!”, Emma huffed, enraged. “We must get rid of her!”

“Get rid of who?”, Pandora made her appearance behind Regina and startled them both. “Me?”

Silence. Emma fixed her blue eyes on the dark angel and stepped back, almost disgusted. Pandora passed by the former Evil Queen and stepped outside, waving her wings behind her back. Regina’s thoughts trailed off when the sun caressed Pandora’s skin and the dazzling shine, enraptured her.

_She is ravishing…_

“You act like a love-struck teenager!”, Emma hissed, staring at Regina who pulled herself out of the intoxicating thoughts immediately.

The brunette clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes, warningly. She had a feeling that the conversation would not end well. And for God’s sake, she was not acting like a love-struck teenager! That was foolish.

“Someone has to put an end to this mess…”, the blonde whispered, full of rage and pointed the grassy ground before Pandora with the wand.

Pandora flapped her wings, ready to fly away but Emma rose up her free hand and clenched her ankle with magic.

“NO! STOP!”, Regina cried out and rushed to Emma but the savior dropped down the wand and turned her hand to the brunette’s side, tying her with enchantments. The portal was open and it was a matter of time for Emma to push Pandora inside.

Regina’s heart clenched at once. She didn’t want to lose Pandora. Shifting her gaze back to the gorgeous female, she let out a low growl. The dark angel was flapping her wings fast, trying to escape. She looked like a caged bird.

“If you do this, Emma, I will kill you with my bare hands!”, the brunette yelled, feeling her rage like a black fire inside her body. “I swear to Henry!”

The blonde snapped her head back to Regina, startled. She was serious and Emma could see that in her dark eyes.

“You gave clothes to her, you care about her appearance, you are tender!”, Emma’s voice was loud but it seemed broken too. “Why?!”

“Are you jealous, Emma Swan?”, Pandora hastened to invade before Regina could give a proper answer.

“Go to hell, monster”, the blonde mumbled and clenched her lips whilst her magic moved to Pandora’s neck, choking her.

“EMMA!”, the former Evil Queen shouted and gathered all her strength to brake those magic bounds. Her magic intertwined with Emma’s and Regina managed to set herself free after a while.

The brunette rose up her hand and pushed Emma back with force, using magic but the enchantments hit on Pandora’s left wing and blue flames covered it. The dark angel landed on the ground, screaming in pain whilst the flames were burning her silky feathers. Regina felt like her heart was being torn, once more. She hastened to go near Pandora and tried to eliminate the flames with magic but she failed.

“Do something!!”, the former Evil Queen snapped her head to Emma who stood up and walked up to them. “Our magic powers intertwined and we need to fix this together!!”

Regina’s eyes were wide open and her heart was pounding like crazy but Emma seemed strangely calm. On the other hand, Pandora was crying and screaming on the ground.

“No. I’m not doing anything to help her”, said Emma composedly.

Regina looked at her, in shock. _This can’t be true…_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, as you can see this is not a typical Swen fanfic. I really love them but also I wanted to write something different. The main relationship here is not the Swen and I wanted to clarify this. Although the story will contain many intrigues between Regina, Pandora and Emma :)) Enjoy! More to come!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delayed update but I had problems with my internet connection :// Enjoy!! ;)

Regina’s pleading gaze shifted back to the wounded angel. What could she do now?! Pandora was panting on the ground.

“Please…”, the dark angel mouthed in despair. Her grey eyes turned black as the fire covered the other wing too. She cried out painfully and Regina stood up with shaky hands.

“I beg you, let me help her…”, Regina turned to Emma. She felt sick to her stomach once she saw the cold expression on the savior’s face. Pandora would die.

“Have I heard well?”, a male voice sounded behind Emma and both women shifted their heads to the direction of the sound. It was Gold. “The Queen was pleading.”

“What do you want?!”, the brunette shouted at him. “A deal?? So be it!! Save her and I’ll give you anything you want!”

Gold’s eyes shone but a mere moment later he shrugged.

“First of all, you don’t have anything I want”, he said. “And secondly, I can’t help you.”

It was that particular moment when Regina’s heart literally froze over. A piercing pain tore her insides and she felt betrayed. She had done so many things for all of them but in return she received rejection. For them, she would always be the Evil Queen who had killed so many people and tried to vanquish Snow. That was so unfair. She loved them and she needed their trust and support but… Hell no. She was the monster. Of course.

“Alright…”, the former Evil Queen nodded coldly. “Leave. Both of you. Now”, she requested.

Pandora had stopped screaming. Probably, she had fainted. Emma looked at Gold and frowned but he never stopped looking at the brunette.

“Leave now, before it’s too late”, said Regina warningly. Her rage was a dangerous thing, especially for the others. Gold exhaled sharply but he disappeared in his own purple mist, leaving Emma behind. The blonde attempted to near the former Evil Queen but she growled, forcing her to stay in her place.

“Regina…”

“No!”, the brunette hissed. “No other word from you, Emma Swan. Get the hell out of my territory and never come back!”

“Never..?”, the blonde questioned, kind of startled.

“Don’t provoke something that you can’t endure, Miss Swan”, Regina pointed the exit but Emma decided to leave just like Gold; surrounded by purple mist.

Once the savior disappeared, Regina knelt down next to the dark angel and checked her breath. Thank God, she was still alive. The brunette looked at Pandora’s back. _Oh dear…_ No wings. Only coal and blood. She gulped when she noticed the wounds on the other’s back. Her brown eyes watered as she felt sorry for that beautiful creature. Placing her arms underneath Pandora’s slim figure, she lifted her up carefully and noticed that her body was shaking. She moved her inside the mansion and took her upstairs to her bedroom. She placed her on the king-side bed and let out a shaky breath.

“I will fix you…”, she mumbled. She didn’t know how but she would definitely try her best to help her. First of all, she had to heal those wounds on Pandora’s back. Closing her eyes, the brunette let both her hands hover over the wounds and a pure, white light filled the room. The warmth of the magic worked and in no time the wounds were past but the brunette kept her hands there, trying to heal Pandora inside out. When she withdrew her hands the former dark angel looked normal again. Normal but without the grace of her wings. Regina felt a pinch in her heart. She leaned over the female and laid a soft kiss upon her forehead. Then she walked out of the room.

 

………………………………………………………………………………….

 

The next morning, Regina heard a soft knock on the front door. She didn’t want to see any of them but she knew that nobody could step a foot on her territory anymore because of the spell. She had sealed the mansion with blood magic. Only her relatives could come near so… It was Zelena. Regina was keeping Henry away for his own good. Pandora was wounded and weak but she didn’t want to risk Henry’s life. What if she wanted to use him? No. She had to protect him.

Wrapping the robe around her body, the brunette walked up to the front door and opened it. Brown eyes met green ones.

“Hey sis…”, Zelena offered a small smile. “Can I come in?”

Regina didn’t answer. She didn’t even smile. She only stepped aside, letting the redhead walk in. The brunette shut the door and walked to the kitchen. Zelena followed her and settled down on a chair.

“Coffee?”, the former Evil Queen questioned with hoarse voice.

“Sure”, Zelena replied, watching her sister.

Regina grabbed two mugs and poured some coffee in. She offered one to her sister and settled next to her on a different chair, wrapping her palms around the steaming mug.

“I know what happened…”, the redhead talked first.

“As expected”, Regina chuckled bitterly.

“Regina…”, Zelena sighed. “You know that I love you. You must be careful with her.”

“She is harmless”, the brunette pointed out. “Emma was the first one who claimed that but she was the one who harmed her! Pandora is not dangerous. Emma is.”

“Can you hear yourself, Regina? Pandora has a plan and you’re oblivious!”

“Oh really? What plan?”, Regina questioned ironically.

“She wants to estrange you from the others so she can manipulate you!”

The brunette opened her mouth to reply but she closed it right away. She shifted her gaze back to the steaming mug in her hands, thoughtfully. What if Zelena was right? She couldn’t be… Pandora couldn’t be so reckless with herself. Her story said that true love can vanquish her. True love? _Let’s be serious for a moment, Regina._ Alright. Maybe the brunette liked her but Pandora had no feelings for anyone. Ever. Why should she have for her?

Admitting even to herself that she liked the former dark angel, Regina felt weird and an upcoming blush made its way up to her face. Zelena noticed it but decided to remain silent and took a sip from her coffee.

“Can we go for a walk?”, the brunette looked at her sister and exhaled. “I really need to breathe some fresh air.”

“Sure, but…”, the redhead paused, chewing her bottom lip. “Is she here? I would like to see her, if you don’t mind. Gold said she is incredibly beautiful.”

“She is here, sleeping upstairs the last seventeen hours.”

“Isn’t she a sleepyhead?, Zelena laughed.

Regina stared at her, deadpan and blank-eyed, with no answering flicker of a smile.

“Alright…”, the redhead got herself together. “Will you show me?”

“Only for a moment”, Regina arched an eyebrow and stood up.

Zelena nodded in agreement and followed her sister upstairs.

“Be quiet…”, the brunette whispered and opened the bedroom door.

Pandora was still on the bed, sleeping. Her divine beauty made Zelena hold back her breath. The bedcovers were aside and her body was gloriously leaning on one side. A stream of dark locks was caressing her flawless face and her plump lips had a rosy color. Zelena’s eyes opened widely in view of the sleeping angel.

“She is a piece of art…”, mumbled the redhead.   

“Indeed…”, Regina allowed herself to smile modestly.

At that moment, Pandora stirred and Regina grabbed Zelena’s wrist and motioned her, silently, to follow her out of the room.

“Regina…”, the gorgeous female mumbled and the sisters froze in place.

Zelena’s jaw dropped open and she looked at her sister.

“Her voice…”, the redhead whispered mesmerized.

_Oh, yes. The voice of an angel…_

“I will meet you in the park”, the brunette mumbled, standing at the door.

“But…”, Zelena tried to protest but Regina cut her off.

“Go. Now.”

The redhead pouted but she walked away grimacing, disappointed. Regina stepped in the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Pandora had her eyes half way open, watching at her. The brunette closed the distance and settled on the bed, next to her.

“That was my--..”

“Your sister, Zelena”, the former dark angel completed the sentence for her. “I know.”

Regina nodded and smiled faintly.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”, the brunette questioned.

“I’ve lost my wings…”, the female whispered sorrowfully.

The former Evil Queen moved her hand and grabbed hers, in an attempt to soothe her pain.

“I’ll find a way to give you back your wings…”

Grey eyes met brown ones in a swirl of emotions and Pandora freed her hand from Regina’s, gently. Then, she raised her hand slowly and touched Regina’s cheek with her fingertips. The brunette swallowed thickly when she felt the featherlight touch on her skin. A million butterflies opened their wings and created a mess in her stomach.

_Oh, dear… The feeling of being in love…_

Regina lowered her head, trying to digest the thought whilst Pandora pulled back her hand.

“Made sure to freeze this feeling, before it’s too late”, said Pandora and Regina lifted her head up, quickly, staring at the female. Did she hear her thoughts? Probably. What if she didn’t? What was that? She rejected her. She knew and she rejected her. Pandora locked eyes with her.

“Thank you for being so good to me, but I won’t let you kill me”, said the female and closed her eyes whilst silver mist began to cover her body and Regina stood up, irritated.

“Don’t go!”, she shouted but it was already too late. The former dark angel had gone and she remained alone, looking at the messy bed.

“I want you…”, whispered Regina and sat on the bed corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, Pandora is fully aware of Regina's feelings towards her but she rejects her. For now, at least ;) But, she is in great danger. True love can kill her... What will happen between them?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am unforgivable, I know... :(( I'm terribly sorry for my late update. I had serious problems with the internet connection and I tried hard to find a way to post the next chapter.. I still have problems but I hope that I will post the next chapters sooner rather than later!
> 
> So. In my story, Belle is still together with Rumple. Just so you know :) Please, enjoy and let me know if you like the new -belated- chapter ;)

With lazy movements, Regina put on her everyday clothes and walked downstairs and out of the house. Zelena was still there, waiting for her in the garden. The brunette’s face was clear of emotions but her stomach was a tied knot. She walked out of the garden and Zelena followed her. They were walking side by side on the pavement when Regina noticed how cold the weather was. The sky was grey –just like Pandora’s eyes- and the clouds looked heavy; like they were filled with rainwater. She let out a breath whilst she zipped up her jacket. Zelena glanced at her as she put her hands on her pockets.

“Are you okay, sis?”, the redhead questioned.

No answer. Regina shifted her gaze to the trees as they continued walking.

“Is Pandora okay?”, another question from Zelena.

The brunette lowered her head and fixed her eyes on her feet.

“I don’t get your silence but the only thing I can tell with certainty is that you’re troubled.”

Regina’s stomach swirled and she felt unable to breath normally. She was not only troubled. She was a complete mess. Zelena sighed deeply and shook her head disappointed.

“She is very lucky, you know”, the redhead pointed out and Regina looked up at her quizzically. “Pandora”, she clarified and Regina’s heart clenched. “She is the most dangerous creature on earth but she has you worrying about her.”

The brunette couldn’t bear that awful pressure anymore. Out of the blue, she stopped walking and leaned her body forward, like she wanted to throw up but she just cried. With her hand on her chest, she tried hard to ease the heartbreaking sobs but it was impossible. Her body was literally shaking. Zelena grabbed her shoulders and attempted to pull her up but she failed.

“Oh God, Regina, please…”, the redhead mumbled in shock. “Please, sis… Take it easy…”

Zelena hugged her sister tightly and her eyes watered. On the other hand, the brunette just let her emotions roll down her cheeks freely. She had to; otherwise her heart would blow up.

“She… She rej--..”, the former Evil Queen tried to speak with muffled voice. Her head was tucked in Zelena’s neck. “She…rejected me…”

“She… _what??”_ , the redhead pulled back, staring at the other. Her green eyes were widely open in shock.

The brunette shouldn’t have said that.  

“Wait…”, Zelena let go of her sister. “You like her?”

“A lot…”, Regina decided to be honest with her. She wiped the tears away from her face and took in a couple of deep breaths.

That was the revelation of the century. Regina liked Pandora. Regina was into women. _Wait._ Regina was gay. Was she? The wicked witch of the West lowered her green gaze, thoughtfully.

“Does she likes you?”, she questioned.

“Oh God…”, the brunette rolled her eyes, indignantly. “I told you! She rejected me! She said she won’t let me kill her…”

“Oh yes…”, Zelena nodded. “Mutual love is fatal for her.”

“I know…”, Regina mumbled and sighed. “Let’s go to Granny’s.”

“Why?”

“I need a drink.”

 

……………………………………………………………………

 

Granny’s Diner was deserted; only granny was there and Belle. Not even Ruby was there to help granny with the cleaning. Regina dragged herself to the nearest barstool and her sister sat next to her. They ordered scotch, cold water and French toasts. Zelena was hungry but Regina couldn’t even smell the food. With a deep sigh the brunette downed her drink and ordered another in a blink of an eye.

“Regina, take it easy.”

“Give me a break, sis”, the brunette almost hissed at her whilst she took a large sip of her second drink.

She needed to get drunk even if she knew that it was merely impossible. Her body could withstand huge amounts of alcohol.

It was an enormous mistake to let her heart beat for that female. Didn’t she know that it wouldn’t end well? Pandora was a sly creature. Maybe she liked Regina but only because she was the most evil being of all. On the other hand, what about Emma? _What about her?_ She was clearly jealous. That’s why she didn’t help Regina save Pandora from the fire. Oh, that was so lame. Regina expected more from her and Emma disappointed her.

“I’m sorry for my nosiness but…”, Belle’s voice sounded next to Regina and both women turned their heads to look at the young woman who blushed instantly. “…it’s your third drink Regina and you seem really troubled. Can I help?”

Third drink? Oh, dear God. Regina hadn’t even noticed it.

“Curiosity killed the cat, bookworm”, Zelena hissed offended. “I can help my sister!”

Regina glared at the redhead. “Zelena hold your horses! Belle is a friend!”

“I’m really sorry, I just wanted to help…”, Belle mumbled and turned around to leave but Regina grabbed her elbow.

“Please, Belle…”, the former Evil Queen forced a small smile. “Sit with us.”

“I apologize for my behavior, Belle”, the redhead sighed and Belle nodded smiling.

What a kind girl. That bastard, Gold, was so lucky to have her.

“What’s the problem, Regina?”

The brunette lowered her head whilst her mind filled with Pandora again. She was the problem. Oh no, that was so wrong. Regina’s feelings for her were the problem. _Fuck._ Everything had happened so freaking fast. Her eyes watered instantly and she felt Belle’s hand on her shoulder, making circles soothingly. She looked up at Belle and a single tear rolled down her cheek. The young woman was looking at her with compassion.

“How…”, the brunette tried to compile a decent sentence. “How did you… manage to love Gold’s darkness..?”

Belle frowned and Zelena glanced at her sister knowingly.

“Well…”, the woman exhaled, thoughtfully. “I embraced all of his sides because I fell in love with him, knowing that he was the Dark One. I knew it from the very first moment. However, I tried to bring on the surface all the good elements”, she smiled sadly. “Still trying though…”

“But a kiss from you could destroy him”, Regina frowned. “Your first kiss was a disaster. It could vanquish all his powers.”

“I never kissed him properly while we were in the Enchanted Forest.”

“Right…”

“What would happen if someone was kissing Pandora?”, Zelena questioned and Regina fixed her eyes on Belle.

“Only true love’s kiss can kill her”, Belle replied, looking at Zelena but then she shifted her blue gaze back to the brunette. “You like her, don’t you?”

Regina froze. How could she know?

“Relax…”, the woman offered a smile. “I can see it in your eyes, Regina.”

“I do like her…”, the brunette admitted. “But she rejected me.”

“Wasn’t it expected?”, Belle shrugged. _What?_

Regina frowned, not knowing what to say. Actually, yes, it was expected but how could Belle justify Pandora’s reaction?

“What do you mean by that, Belle?”, the redhead questioned, pushing aside the plate with the toasts.

“Before I say anything, can you tell me exactly what happened, Regina?”

Regina nodded and gave a detailed explanation to her. The part with Emma was not easy because Belle was clever and could think that something was cooking between them but thankfully the woman ignored it. When Regina finished, Belle exhaled slowly and shook her head.

“What?”, the brunette looked at her intensely.

“Regina, come on”, Belle giggled. “She likes you. But she is afraid that you are her death.”

“I don’t want her to die.”

“Oh, tell that to Rumple…”, the young woman mumbled. “Wait a minute!”, she exclaimed afterwards with eyes widely open.

“What??”, both sisters looked at her with anticipation.

“I can help you, somehow!”, Belle smiled widely, looking at Regina. “There is a magic sphere in Rumple’s shop which can answer any question regarding the future. It doesn’t show you the future though. The sphere replies to your question with a potential aspect of the future.”

“Where did he find it?”, Zelena narrowed her eyes, suspiciously.

“Oh, I don’t know but it is safe”, Belle replied.

“So, it’s not about the future. It’s only about the question”, said Regina.

“Based on the question, the sphere will show you a possible version of the future but not the future itself”, Belle explained once again.

“Alright. Let’s go find out”, the brunette stood up and the other two followed her.

 

………………………………………………………………

 

An hour later, Zelena accompanied Regina back home and helped her go upstairs to her bedroom. The brunette seemed in a worst condition than before. She was pale, dry of emotions and cold. That was almost scary. The redhead helped her sister change her clothes into a nightgown and tucked her in bed. Regina was silent. Zelena had no idea what her sister had seen when she touched the sphere. It should be terrible; otherwise Regina would not react like it was the end of the world. The moment Regina pulled her hands away from the magic sphere she gasped and placed her hand on her chest like she was unable to breathe. Her brown eyes were filled with tears and she was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Neither of them managed to make her speak, so Zelena decided to take her back home.

“Regina, I beg you…”, the redhead sat on the bed, next to her sister, looking at her worried. “Tell me what you saw when you touched the sphere…”

Regina took in a sharp breath and she lowered her gaze to her tangled fingers on the bedcovers. She was in a lotus position on the bed, covered with blankets and sheets.

“Sis, please….”, Zelena tried again.

“I was in the woods…”, the brunette started talking with hoarse voice without looking at Zelena.

“Wait”, the redhead stopped her. “Tell me first, what you asked. What was the question?”

“What will happen if Pandora and I fall in love with each other?”

“Oh…”, Zelena nodded and sighed. “Go on.”

“As I said, I was in the woods. It was raining. At first, I was alone… and scared, but then Pandora appeared. For some reason she was covered in blood but I could see that she was not hurt. I ran to her and she hugged me tightly. I could feel her heartbeat…”, she paused, exhaling some air. Oh… Telling that story was a difficult thing. “Even if I know that she is heartless, I swear, I heard the beating of a heart and it was not mine. When I pulled back to look at her face, I felt peaceful. Her grey eyes were glowing and she had the warmest… most beautiful smile in the whole world”, Regina looked up at her sister slowly. “I could feel her love, Zelena…”

“Oh, sis…”, Zelena couldn’t hold back her tears. Some of them rolled down her cheeks.

The brunette shifted her gaze back to her fingers and she caressed the blanket indifferently.

“The horror show started when I kissed her lips…”, the former Evil Queen smiled coldly.

“What… what do you mean?”, the redhead frowned, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

“I remember the feeling…”, Regina closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her heartbeat increased when her mind filled with images of what she had seen on the sphere. “I leaned closer and I captured her lips in a heated kiss… It felt so real. Actually, it felt so… right. Her lips had a divine taste. Nothing that I have tasted before…”, she bit her lower lip, lasciviously but then she looked up at Zelena, almost shocked and scared. “She pulled back… She was crying out that an inner fire was burning her vitals…”, Regina sobbed but her eyes were dry. Zelena was listening, shocked. “I was unable to help her… My magic was useless. Her skin…”, she trailed off and shut her eyes tightly, feeling horrified by that memory. “…It changed… She was literally burning from the inside out… Her limbs shattered like burnt wood… One moment before Pandora being turned into ashes, I looked at her eyes… her black eyes… and I cried out the words I love you… She… she vanished… like she had never existed…”

“True love’s kiss…”, Zelena mumbled frightened and Regina nodded slowly.

“A love that should never flourish…”

“Never say never, sis…”, the redhead exhaled, thoughtfully, chewing her lips.

Regina frowned and looked at her. “What do you mean? What do you have in mind?”

Zelena shifted her green gaze back to her sister and looked at her intensely.

“So?”, Regina’s eyebrows shot up with curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be discouraged. The magic sphere showed a gloomy potential aspect of the future but Zelena had an idea and it will might be....miraculous ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to update the story in time!! Yeah!! I'm so glad! :))
> 
> Well, I have to clarify that I do not own the parts from the book Regina's reading. It's the real story about Pandora (the myth actually) and I got them from wikipedia. 
> 
> Warnings: the end of the chapter... shocking and sad :/

“We have to go back in time”, the Wicked Witch of the West stated and Regina looked at her quizzically.

“Literally or metaphorically?”

“We shall see”, Zelena stood up from the bed. “Think about what Gold said. Pandora had a jar. She opened the jar containing death and many other evils which were released into the world. Then she hastened to close the container, but the whole contents had escaped except for one thing that lay at the bottom – Elpis.”

“I’m not following…”, Regina frowned and pulled aside the bedcovers.

“Hope, sis!”, the redhead exclaimed. “All you need is hope!”

“Zelena, get yourself together!”, the brunette growled, enraged. “How can we find the jar?? What if Zeus has it?! All I need is a break! Not hope!”

Zelena let out a deep sigh as she looked away. She couldn’t blame her. Regina was hurt. How could she not be?

“Alright…”, the redhead shrugged. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”

“Mhm…”

The former Evil Queen lie on her back and closed her eyes, sighing disappointed whilst Zelena walked out of the room.

 

……………………………………………………………

 

Two torturous days later Regina found herself outside Storybrooke’s public library. That place had saved her many times in the past and she hoped that it would do its magic once more. Thankfully she was alone in there. Maybe because it was still very early in the morning. She let out a sigh as she wandered around the tall, dusty bookcases. Ancient books, books with spells and hexes, history books, encyclopedias, magazines, books with myths… Oh. Myths! She grabbed the largest one and pulled it out, coughing by the dust it scattered around. _Pandora…_ She sat on a chair and placed the book on the desk in front of her. She opened it and started searching. _Pandora… Pandora… Where is it? Oh yes!_ Regina smiled when she finally found Pandora’s myth and she started reading.

 

_“…After humans received the stolen gift of fire from Prometheus, an angry Zeus decides to give humanity a punishing gift to compensate for the boon they had been given. He commands Hephaestus to mold from earth the first woman, a "beautiful evil" whose descendants would torment the human race. After Hephaestus does so, Athena dresses her in a silvery gown, an embroidered veil, garlands and an ornate crown of silver. When she first appears before gods and mortals, "wonder seized them" as they looked upon her. But she was "sheer guile, not to be withstood by men."….”_

Dear Lord. Pandora was quite something. Regina continued reading.

 

_“…As before, she is created by Hephaestus, but now more gods contribute to her completion: Athena taught her needlework and weaving; Aphrodite "shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs"; Hermes gave her "a shameful mind and deceitful nature"; Hermes also gave her the power of speech, putting in her "lies and crafty words" ; Athena then clothed her; next Persuasion and the Charites adorned her with necklaces and other finery; the Horae adorned her with a garland crown. Finally, Hermes gives this woman a name: Pandora – "All-gifted" – "because all the Olympians gave her a gift"….”_

Regina exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose, thinking that Hermes should be the one who also gave her the wings. She turned the page and read about the jar.

 

_“…Only Hope was left within her unbreakable house,_

_she remained under the lip of the jar, and did not_

_fly away. Before [she could], Pandora replaced the_

_lid of the jar. This was the will of aegis-bearing_

_Zeus the Cloudgatherer….”_

The former Evil Queen closed the book and looked away, thoughtfully. Pandora was not just evil. According to the writings, she had a shameful mind and a deceitful nature. Also she was endowed with the ability of saying lies and using crafty words. But she struggled to keep Hope locked in the jar. Why? Why, indeed. _Wait a second_. Regina reopened the book to the page where it was written the part about hope.

“She remained under the lip of the jar and did not fly away…”, the brunette read out loud. _She_ … Hope was a female. Regina had to find Hope. Actually, she had to find the jar first.

“Where the hell should I search to find the jar?”, Regina wondered out loud.

“I think the Queen needs a little push from the Dark One”, Gold’s voice sounded from the library’s entrance and the brunette turned her head to his side.

“Guess what… _diarie!_ ”, Regina mocked his tone of voice with an arched eyebrow and stood up, placing the book back to its place. “I don’t need your help.”

“I know where the jar is, Regina”, Gold smirked and walked closer to her.

“I don’t care!”, the former Evil Queen hissed. Of course she cared but she was not in the mood for deals with the Dark One.   

“Alright, then”, he shrugged. “I’ll let you know when I kill Hope”, he turned on his heel and walked up at the exit.

“Wait!!!”

Gold stopped walking and turned around with a sly smile on his face. Regina mentally cursed her damn luck as she spilled out the next words.

“Name the price…”

“Oh, now you’re talking diarie…”, Gold chuckled and received a death glare from the brunette. “You get Hope, I get the jar.”

Regina frowned instantly.

“You said you know where the jar is. Why don’t you go and get it by yourself?”, she questioned.

“And I thought you were clever, Regina”, he tilted his head to one side and looked at her. “Zeus enchanted it so none of the Dark Ones can touch it.”

“He wants to protect Hope”, the brunette nodded with understanding.

“He wants to protect the jar as well.”

“What do you want to do with the jar, Gold?”, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“That’s none of your business, your majesty”, Gold replied coldly.

Should she take the deal? The jar would be a great weapon in his hands. On the other hand she had to help Pandora. Oh, that was a lie… She only wanted to be with her, freely, without death sentences. That was so selfish of her. But if she had Pandora by her side, she could fight Gold.

“Deal…”, finally said the former Evil Queen with a deep sigh.

“Excellent, diarie!”, his eyes shone and he pulled out of his pocket a golden bracelet. “It will lead you to the jar.”

“Wait”, she frowned. “Where is it? Should I take a car? A plane? Magic beans?”, she shrugged.

“A car would be better”, Gold wrapped the bracelet around Regina’s left wrist and it shimmered slightly. “It will turn red once you are close to the jar.”

“Alright…”

“Good luck, your majesty”, Gold smiled slyly and disappeared in purple mist.

“Go to hell, monster…”, she mumbled, irritated and walked out of the library.   

 

…………………………………………………………

 

“Where the hell is this freaking thing?!”, Regina mumbled, full of rage as she got in the car.

 _Maybe it is in hell._ Oh, gosh if Pandora could hear her thoughts. She would definitely say that her way of thinking was not very… how she said it? Oh yes. Not very lady-like. Regina smiled at the memory.

She glanced at the bracelet whilst she drove away and grimaced. She didn’t know where she should go. Which way should she take? Should she go out of Storybrooke? She had no clue. Driving down the main street of the town she decided to turn left but her wrist with the bracelet stiffened and Regina reduced the speed. The right part of the bracelet glowed for a mere moment and she looked at the right path. _Let’s give it a try…_ The brunette turned right and almost immediately the middle part of the bracelet glowed, showing the straight path to her. She smiled deviously. That was smart.

A left turn, a right turn, another right turn and straight. Regina whimpered irritated. The bracelet was leading her to… to the graveyard. _Oh shit._ Hope was probably buried along with the jar somewhere in the graveyard. The brunette got out of the car and let the golden jewel lead her to the spot. She wandered around the paths, following the glowing parts of the bracelet and her spine shivered once the bracelet turned shiny red. She glanced over her shoulder and the name on the grave in which she saw caused goosebumps to her.

“Robin Hood….”, the brunette mumbled and her heart clenched.

That was unbelievable. She had to dig and bring out the jar. She had to dig her lover’s grave…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Gold is a real monster, huh? What do you think he wants to do with the jar?   
> Oh and... Robin's grave. Yeah... If Regina wants to get the jar, she has to dig deep into his grave. It's sad, I know...  
> What will happen next? Where is Pandora? Can Hope help them?  
> Let's find out in the next chapter! ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Let me say something first. Pandora's box appeared in the series but in a different form and that's why I changed it. I wanted to use the myth, without changing many things :)) 
> 
> The part about Idis (you'll understand what I mean when you read the chapter) is taken from the internet. 
> 
> Enjoy and let me know if you like it :)

Taking a step back, the former Evil Queen, lowered her head and breathed in and out slowly. She was living a nightmare. How could it be possible to dig into Robin’s grave? That was horrifying, overwhelming, sad and scary all at once. In an attempt to save herself from the pain she raised her left hand and tried to summon the jar magically from inside the grave but she utterly failed. The bracelet disappeared once she flicked her hand and a shovel appeared. She knew exactly what she should do.

Placing her free hand on her chest, she lifted her gaze to the sky and felt her heartbeat racing already. The clouds had a dark grey color and the sun was long gone. _Forgive me, Robin…_ She looked down at the grave and with a sharp inhalation she started digging. Her hands were shaking and her stomach was swirling. For a moment only, she stopped and with sweaty hands she tried hard not to burst out in tears as she covered her face. That was so freaking hard. Her former lover was buried in there, for God’s sake! _Get yourself together, Regina…_ The next thrust with the shovel was also the last one. The upper part of the shovel collided against a hard object and the brunette threw down to the ground the heavy tool. What if it was the… the coffin? She mentally wished to be the jar.

Kneeling down, she used her hands to touch the object and she let out a shaky breath once she realized that it was not made of wood therefore it was not the coffin. Using all her physical strength, she pulled out the jar and placed it carefully on the grassy ground. The brunette stood up, shaking slightly and she restored the grave to its original state with magic. Once the job was done she used magic again to clean herself up from the dirt. When she finished she shifted her gaze back to the jar.

She observed it for a while. It was big, with two handles on each side and it was probably made of clay. He had engraved symbols on it. The lid seemed tightly attached to the jar’s opening. She tried to pull away the lid but she failed. _Okay, let’s try to open it with light magic._ The brunette raised both her hands and concentrated while a dazzling white light appeared from her palms. The lid cracked and she removed the pieces with her hands. Before she managed to look inside, a reddish swirl began to tumble out of the jar slowly and the former Evil Queen stepped back cautiously. One minute later a young woman was standing in front of her, beautiful and with cherry hair. Her eyes were golden and she was wearing a simple, white, long dress.

“You are Hope…”, the brunette talked first as she observed the newcomer.

“Indeed I am”, said the woman in a calm voice and offered a polite smile. “And you are?”

“Regina Mills. Or otherwise… the Evil Queen.”

“Oh… You are the Evil Queen…”, Hope nodded her head. “But you don’t seem evil.”

“I am not… Not anymore. Well… Not as much as I used to be”, Regina shrugged.

“Alright”, the woman looked at her. “May I ask where I am?”

“You’re in Storybrooke and I need your help…”, Regina sighed.

“How may I help you?”, Hope closed the distance between them and reached out for Regina’s hand. The former Evil Queen was not used to that type of intimacy with strangers but she accepted it.

“The Dark One brought Pandora here in Storybrooke”, Regina started explaining. “That’s why you and the jar are here. The thing is… we know that true love can kill Pandora and I want to prevent it. I…”, she gulped. “I… care about her. A lot. And I think she cares about me too. I know you can help us…”, she looked at Hope, pleadingly. “I had no idea where to find you so I made a deal with the Dark One. He takes the jar and I take you…”

Hope let go of Regina’s hand with a frightening expression on her face.

“He… must not get the jar…”, the woman mumbled. “It’s the most dangerous weapon in the whole world…”

“I’m not afraid of him”, stated Regina. “I can take him down if I have Pandora by my side.”

“But you won’t have her.”

“What? Why..?”, Regina frowned.

“We shall see…”, Hope let out a deep sigh.

“I saw something in a crystal ball…”, the former Evil Queen mumbled, looking at the other eagerly to find out if the future could change somehow.

“Crystal ball?”

Regina nodded. “You ask a question and the crystal ball shows you a potential aspect of the future regarding the question. The Dark One possesses the object.”

“The crystal ball of Idis…”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Idis was a fairy of the forest that protected Zeus when he was young”, Hope explained. “Idis actually had given the little god his first game, a crystal ball, which when was thrown into the air was leaving bright colorful lines just like the stars of Uranus.”

“Dear God…”, Regina sighed. “So… It must be true. What I saw…”

“Maybe. But maybe not.”

“Please…”, the brunette looked at her with big, brown eyes full of sincerity. “Help me… I need her. I can’t lose her…”

“You won’t pay any price”, the woman said coldly. “Pandora will if she realizes that you are her love.”

“What do you mean?”, Regina questioned curiously but her question remained unanswered while it started raining heavily. She was about to do her magic and disappear from there along with Hope but Gold made his appearance at the exact moment and ruined her plans.

“You owe me something, diarie”, he created an invisible shield around him so the rainwater could not touch him and he smiled slyly to Regina.

“Let Regina out of this”, Hope talked. “I am the one who will prevent you from getting the jar.”

“She made a deal!”, Gold hissed. “Give me the jar!”

“He can’t even touch it…”, Regina whispered close to Hope’s ear.

“Now that I am out of the jar and you touched it, he can”, Hope responded casually. “Leave, Regina. Now.”

“No”, she refused. “It’s my mess and I’m not going anywhere.”

Out of the blue, Gold attacked Hope, making her turn over in the air several times before landing on the ground several meters away. Regina gasped, shocked and surprised and attempted to run over to her but Hope raised her hand, coughing painfully.

“I’m sorry Regina…. but you need to leave…”, she said, voice broken. A reddish mist encircled Regina and transported her to… the woods.      

 

…………………………………………………………………

 

Storybrooke’s forest was submerged in the dark and the rain was falling fast and heavily. Regina didn’t bother to protect herself from the rainwater. She looked around, eyes watered and tried to ease her rapid breath. The forest seemed deserted but she felt scared. She destroyed everything only because she was extremely selfish. Now Hope had to deal with Gold and it was so not fair. She had to stay there and fight by her side even if Hope wanted her out of this.

Regina leaned her back against a tree trunk and started crying like it was the end of the world. Her tears entwined with the rain drops and she felt so alone and terrified for the first time in her life.

When she heard footsteps close to where she was, she stirred and stopped crying at once. She detached herself from the tree trunk and looked around with eyes wide open.

“Show yourself!”, she exclaimed with shaky voice and a fireball appeared in her right hand, ready to protect herself.

Her heart skipped a beat when Pandora emerged from behind a tree and the fireball in her hand disappeared in a mere moment. Pandora had blood on her dress and her arms but she was looking at Regina with eyes full of warmth. The brunette couldn’t hold back herself so she ran to her and she fell into Pandora’s arms who hugged her tightly.

“Are… are you okay?”, Regina questioned, voice unstable.

Pandora exhaled slowly as she caressed the other’s back.

“I’ve missed you…”, Pandora whispered and the next moment she let out a low, painful moan.

Regina pulled back quickly and examined Pandora with her worried gaze.

“Are you in pain??”

“I had no heart…”, the beautiful female explained, grimacing slightly. “…but I feel like my body is creating one now…”

The brunette moved her hand slowly and placed it on Pandora’s chest, feeling a weak heartbeat. Her spine shivered whilst she looked at the female again.

“You have feelings for me…”, the former Evil Queen whispered, not believing her own words.

“I know what you saw in the sphere and I know that Hope is here but…”, Pandora trailed off, taking Regina’s hands in hers. “… I don’t think she can help us so… this is our chance to end this before it’s too painful…”

“We can change the course of the future, darling…”, Regina looked at her pleadingly and squeezed her hands. “Please, don’t give up…”

“Regina…”, the former dark angel moaned again in pain and leaned closer to the other’s face. Her grey orbs were filled with tears and… something else. Fear. She was afraid. “I beg you… My heart will not endure the pain for much longer… Kiss me…”

“I can’t live without you…”, said the brunette panicked and some tears rolled down her cheeks. Her heart clenched and she felt like the ground was about to subside beneath her feet.

“Do it…”, Pandora mumbled and she moved her hands to the brunette’s face, caressing her skin with her fingertips.

It was the exact moment when Regina heard a muffled heartbeat and she knew that it was not hers. It was Pandora’s heart. Her brown eyes shut and she snaked her arms around Pandora whilst she leaned closer to her face. Their lips only inches away…   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Regina kiss Pandora? What will happen next? Can Hope really help them?   
> Actually, Hope can help them but someone has to stop Regina from kissing Pandora.  
> The only thing we know for sure is that Pandora has actual feelings for Regina.   
> Will they last...?


	8. Chapter 8

Regina’s heart was pounding like crazy and her breath was coming out of her lips, unevenly. She was about to kiss a woman she cared about but she knew that her kiss would be fatal. Tilting her head to the right side she prepared herself for that kiss but her lips failed her. Both women opened their eyes at the same time and the brunette frowned. Why couldn’t she kiss Pandora?

“Stay away from Pandora!”

Their puzzle solved when they heard Hope’s voice and Regina stepped away from Pandora. The former dark angel glared at Hope, angrily.

“Stop using magic on us!”, the beautiful female shouted when she realized that Hope had created an invisible wall between them so Regina could not kiss her.

“My magic had saved you in the past, Pandora”, Hope claimed. “When you opened the jar and the evils hurt you, I healed you.”

“And what do you want now??”, Pandora hissed. “A victory celebration??”

“I want to help you”, the woman with the cherry hair responded.

“Wait a second!”, Regina burst out, growling and prevented Pandora from speaking. “What happened with Gold, Hope??”

“He got the jar…”, the young female sighed disappointed. “Forgive me… He said that he would hurt your son if I didn’t give it to him so… I handed the jar to him.”

“What a bastard…”, Regina mumbled, full of rage.

“Language please”, the former dark angel glared at her.

“I’m sorry…”

“So…”, Pandora fixed her attention back to Hope. “How can you help us?”

“Actually, I can’t”, said Hope. “Zeus can.”

“Oh, I’m not willing to go back to Mount Olympus”, shook her head Pandora.

“There’s no need to”, the cherry haired woman smiled slightly. “He can come over here.”

Regina’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You got to be kidding me…”

“How can he help me?”, Pandora questioned.

“We shall see”, Hope responded. “Do you want me to summon him?”

Pandora shifted her grey gaze to the former Evil Queen and breathed heavily. Regina attempted to take Pandora’s hand in hers but she forgot the invisible wall between them.

“Please, Hope…”, the brunette looked at the cherry haired female. “Let me touch her…”

Hope nodded in understanding and broke the spell. Regina moved closer to Pandora and intertwined her fingers with hers, squeezing them lightly. _I’m here for you, gorgeous…_ The former dark angel locked eyes with her, knowingly. She heard her thoughts. The brunette smiled warmly and Pandora turned her head to Hope.

“Do it…”, she said.

Hope took in some deep breaths and knelt down to the ground, concentrating. She raised both her hands to the sky and fire appeared in front of her, burning slowly on the ground. The cherry haired woman stared at the sky with her golden eyes and spoke.

 

“Zeus, Father of Gods, Father of the people

Hear me now, your humble servant

I am Hope

I am the Morning Star, calling you to come to Earth

You, who can help all your children, help Pandora

Come here and spread your light across the world, Father of Gods…”

 

The response was really quick. The rain stopped at once and a frosty breeze made the leaves of the trees to rustle. The forest darkened more for a few moments but soon after a dazzling light blinded the eyes of the women and a terrible noise sounded. Pandora pulled Regina in her arms protectively but she kept staring at the light. Her heartbeat increased when the light faded and all she could see was a figure. Zeus was there. Breathing fast, the former Evil Queen pulled back from the beautiful, yet startled, female and fixed her brown eyes on the figure.

Zeus had a human form, though he was much taller than a usual man and his appearance was fearful. His muscular body was half dressed in white tunic and his hair and beard was pure white even though he seemed young. Two penetrating cerulean orbs were examining them carefully. The thunderbolt in his left hand was glowing like liquid fire. When his gaze shifted to the cherry haired woman, she knelt down obediently and lowered her head.

“Zeus… Father of Gods, I welcome thee”, she spoke, respectfully.

Pandora grabbed Regina’s wrist and forced her to move behind her, like she wanted to protect her, even if Zeus seemed like he had no interest in her.

“I suppose you don’t expect me to kneel before you, Zeus”, Pandora smirked, staring at the man and took some steps forward, leaving the former Evil Queen behind.

“You were always a fearless creature, my Pandora”, Zeus spoke and his brutal, loud and clear voice echoed around the forest. Even Regina felt the urge to lower her head but a sting of jealousy in her heart stopped her. _My Pandora?_ She clenched her fists, spontaneously.

Pandora glanced at her side and locked eyes with her for a mere moment. Oh yes, she could read her mind. When Pandora fixed her attention back to Zeus, Regina calmed down a little bit. Just for her sake.

“Hope said you can help me”, Pandora claimed. “Care to explain?”

“I can save you but you have to take a risk.”

“What do you mean?”, the female frowned.

“You have a heart now”, Zeus clenched his fingers around the thunderbolt slightly. “It’s a matter of time before your heart kills you. I created a heartless woman with magical powers and inability to feel love. It’s a miracle that the woman behind you managed to make you feel love.”

Regina gulped, nervously.

“You said something about a risk which I should take”, Pandora turned the tables on Zeus.       

“Indeed, I said that”, Zeus narrowed his cerulean eyes slightly. “In order to avoid your death, I have to take back your endowments.”

Pandora’s grey eyes opened widely. “What?? What do you mean?? Explain!”

For the first time, after she laid eyes upon the Father of Gods, Regina saw an awful, evil smirk on Zeus’ face. He was enjoying it.

“You will have no exceptional beauty or grace from Aphrodite, no musical ability or wings or shameful mind and deceitful nature from Hermes and last, you will have no ability for needlework and weaving from Athena”, Zeus explained coldly.

“What about my magic??”, Pandora protested.

“No magic, Pandora.”

“Is this the risk, Zeus??”, the female growled at him.

“Of course not”, the Father of Gods neared her and leaned closer to her. “Will Regina still be in love with you even after your change? This is the risk, my Pandora. You have much more to lose.”

Pandora froze in place. Zeus was right. Regina fell in love with the grace upon her, the beauty and the uniqueness.

The brunette, who heard him, growled in advance.

“Do you know anything about love??”, Regina hissed at him, fearlessly, even though she was not exactly sure if he was right or not. “Love is not just a pretty face or an ability to do magic! Love is a deep feeling and it’s not superficial!”

Zeus’ cerulean orbs shifted to the former Evil Queen.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Miss Mills, but you buried your true love some months ago and now you’ve found a new love”, he let out a dry laugh. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Regina clenched her fists once again, staring at the other.

“Robin was not my happy ending. If he was, he would stay alive.”

“Is that so?”, Zeus chuckled ironically.

Hope interfered intensively.

“Pandora, do it”, said the cherry haired female. “You’ll end up dead!”

“NO!”, the gorgeous female growled. “I’m not giving back my gifts!”

Regina walked up to her and placed her hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll love you no matter what…”, she whispered and Pandora stirred.

The former dark angel turned around and looked at the other with a mixed expression of shock and sadness on her face.

“I won’t be the same, Regina…”, she mumbled, her voice slightly broken by upcoming tears.

Regina’s lips formed a small smile. “So what?”

The former dark angel lowered her head, defeated and Zeus pointed the ground with his thunderbolt. A thick line of dazzling, white light appeared from the tip of the thunderbolt and some moments afterwards a small vial appeared on the ground, filled with a reddish liquid. Pandora turned to look at him, quizzically.

“Drink it if you want to stay alive”, he said. “If you want to die then… farewell, my lady.”

With that cold statement, he just disappeared as he had made his appearance. Hope hastened to go near the women.

“I don’t have much time”, she said in a hurry. “Pandora…”, the cherry haired woman looked at the other, almost pleadingly. “Drink the potion.. Stay alive. But if you want to die… summon me. I will take you back to Mount Olympus. But remember this…”, she grabbed Pandora’s wrist. “If you drink the potion and lose your endowments, you will be unwanted in Mount Olympus. Good luck…”

Hope said her last words and departed like a dandelion in the air.

Pandora was like a frozen statue in her place. She could not digest their words as easily as she thought. It was unbelievable. Regina took charge and summoned the vial in her hand, staring at the beautiful female.

“Let’s go back to my place and think about this, mhm?”, she questioned softly.

Pandora just nodded and the former Evil Queen didn’t lose any more time. She let the purple mist take them back home.

Once they appeared in Regina’s living room, Pandora knelt down in front of the fireplace, feeling weak and shattered inside out. Regina knelt down next to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind, exhaling. It was tough, she knew it. She would bet her life that Pandora was thinking about her appearance like it was the only thing that mattered.

_I don’t care about your appearance, Pandora…_

“You say that now that I’m beautiful…”, she mumbled, eyes staring at the fire.

Regina huffed. “You are beautiful but you’re a bitch too!”

Pandora chuckled lightly. “Yes, I am…”

_You are my happy ending…_

“Me or Emma Swan?”, Pandora turned her head to look at the other woman blankly.

Regina looked at her, seriously. That was a stupid question. Was it? Yes, it was! She cared about Emma but not in that way!

“You, Pandora”, she responded and the other moaned in pain out of the blue, placing a hand on her chest.

“My heart…”, the former dark angel whispered, startled. With each step closer to love, she was dying.

Regina pulled the vial out of her pocket with slightly shaky hands and looked at the female with affection.

“Take it… I beg you…”

Pandora took the vial and removed the cork. Her fingers were icy cold and her heart was beating so very slowly. Her grey eyes met the brown ones.

“What will… you do when… I change..?”, she asked, voice broken.

“I will take your breath away with kisses…”, Regina whispered with a warm smile on her face and encouraged the female to drink the potion…   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eventually, Hope was not the one who actually helped Pandora but Zeus!   
> The problem is that Gold has the jar but the next chapter will be focused on Pandora and Regina ;) I think they deserve it!   
> How will Pandora look like after she drinks the potion? Will she be ugly or not? Will Regina still be in love with her?  
> Let's find out!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry you guys, I know I had to update the story yesterday but I was working. A new chapter today!   
> A small spoiler ;) Emma is back again.

Pandora’s fleshy lips parted and she brought the vial close to her mouth, shutting her grey eyes tightly. With a deep inhalation she downed the content and grimaced. She opened her eyes half way and the next moment she passed out.

“Pandora!!”, the brunette shouted in fear and grabbed her from her shoulders, shaking her violently. Nothing. The vial slipped from Pandora’s hand and turned into ashes. “Shit, shit…”, Regina mumbled but she froze when the other started changing.

The roots of Pandora’s hair were turning… white. Oh… She could not stay there and watch. Trembling like an unprotected branch in the air, she stood up and walked out of the living room. Without giving any second thought, the brunette took her cell phone out of her pocket and sent a text to Emma.

 

_Regina: Can I see you? Please… It’s important._

She hissed the moment she sent the text. That was a huge mistake. She shouldn’t have done that. Emma would not understand her.

The response though was quick and irritated Regina.

 

_Emma: As I can recall you shielded your mansion with blood magic and I am not a relative. Call Zelena; your wicked sister._

As expected. Regina shook her head disappointed and walked to the kitchen, feeling a wreck. She didn’t have the guts to watch Pandora’s change. No way. Placing her cell phone on the dinner table, she sat on a chair, looking blankly in front of her. The moment Regina heard Pandora’s painful moan she jumped from her seat and ran outside the house. The brunette knew very well that she was unable to help her and she hated it so much. The nocturnal breeze was cold and smelled like wet earth cause of the previous rain.

“Undo the blood magic so I can walk in the garden, Regina…”, Emma’s voice sounded and the brunette looked around startled. When she spotted the blonde standing at the garden door she flicked her hand, mumbling some spells and the blood magic vanished. The savior’s blue orbs observed the thin air for a couple of seconds before she finally took a step forward cautiously. When she realized that the territory was safe, she neared the former Evil Queen.

Silently, the blonde hugged Regina who didn’t refused the warm embrace. She really needed it.

“Why are you here?”, the brunette questioned, voice low, still tucked in Emma’s embrace.

“You said it was important and I knew it was because I followed you…”, the savior explained, making circles on the other’s back.

Regina was not surprised or shocked. She knew Emma very well.

“So… You know everything…”, the former Evil Queen stated.

“Pretty much”, Emma shrugged. “I knew something was not right when you left Gold’s shop. You seemed devastated. And so I followed you closely. I lost you somewhere in the forest but a location spell helped me find you…”

“Wait…”, Regina pulled back from her embrace and looked at her with arched eyebrows. “You were stalking me since I left Gold’s shop?”, she questioned. “That was three days ago.”

The blonde shrugged, nodding. Regina averted her gaze, feeling awkward. Emma knew. She knew that Pandora was her happy ending.

“Why are you here and not inside with her?”, Emma paused her thoughts.

Regina bit her lower lip, still not looking at her. “She’s changing.”

“Clothes?”, the blonde joked, cleverly.

The brunette allowed herself to smile slightly but that was it and nothing more.

“I know what you mean, Regina”, Emma sighed. “You have to be there for her if you…”, she trailed off.

Regina shifted her brown gaze back to the savior and looked at her intensely. _Just… don’t…_

“…if you love her…”, the blonde completed the sentence.

The former Evil Queen turned to look at one of the house windows and felt that urge to run to Pandora.

“I do love her…”, she admitted, eyes staring at the façade of the house.

“Go to her…”, the blonde said and Regina turned to look at her, nodding.

“Before I go, tell me something…”, the brunette placed her hand on the other’s shoulder. “How’s Henry? Is he alright?”

Emma smiled warmly.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s fine”, she responded. “He misses you though.”

“Oh, I miss him too…”, Regina mumbled, pulling back her hand and felt horrible. “I’m a terrible mother…”

“No, you’re not”, Emma protested. “You are trying to find your happy ending. Do not blame yourself.”

The former Evil Queen nodded slowly, still not believing entirely Emma’s words.

“Go now”, the savior smiled and turned on her heels to leave. “Good luck!”

“Thank you!”, Regina watched her for a while as she was leaving and then she went back inside.    

 

……………………………………………………..

 

The living room’s door was closed so Regina stole a minute to readjust her thoughts. Zeus’ potion saved Pandora but changed her completely. Her appearance was a major issue and now it has been altered. Pandora could be ugly or… even worst, old. What about her character? Oh, right, that was another important issue. Apart from being extremely gorgeous, Pandora was also wicked but that was one of the endowments and Zeus took them back.

Exhaling sharply, the brunette cleared her mind and entered the living room, courageously. Her gaze quickly spotted Pandora who was sitting on the floor, next to the fireplace with her back at Regina. The former Evil Queen neared her cautiously at first but then she reminded to herself that Pandora could not use magic anymore so she loosened up.  

The female had brought her knees to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her thighs. Regina could not see her face because the woman had hidden her face behind the knees. All Regina could see was snow white long hair and milky skin. She settled down next to her and reached her hand out to caress Pandora’s head softly.

“Honey…”, the brunette whispered and the female stirred slightly.

“I don’t want to see my face…”, Pandora spoke, voice muffled.

“Your voice sounds the same, darling…”, Regina assured her, warmly. “Let me see you…”

Taking a deep breath, Pandora showed up her face slowly. The brunette’s eyes widened once she saw how beautiful Pandora remained. She was pale with light blue eyes and stern expression. The shape of her face was little more rounded and her lips were pale but still plump. Her body figure seemed slightly smaller than before and Regina bet that she would be shorter. The most important thing though, was that Pandora looked younger.

“So…?”, Pandora locked eyes with her, awaiting for her reaction with great expectation.

“Sorry!”, the former Evil Queen smiled as she took Pandora’s precious hands in hers and laid some kisses on them. “You look great. You are still gorgeous.”

“Do you like me?”, Pandora questioned, flickering her eyelashes.

“Excuse me, but…”, the brunette frowned, puzzled. “…This is your concern?”

The white haired female nodded slowly and Regina was in awe.

“I like you very much…”, she assured her with a whisper and she let go of Pandora’s hands, summoning a mirror with her magic. The handheld mirror landed in her palm and Regina grabbed its handle.

“Do you want to take a look?”, the brunette looked at her and Pandora nodded once again, without saying anything.

Pandora took the handheld mirror and looked inside with a frown. Regina could not say if the woman seemed happy, sad, relieved or disappointed. Her face was a mask of indifference.

“I’m nothing special”, the white haired woman finally stated but her voice was colorless.

“Of course you are!”, the former Evil Queen strongly disagreed. “Look at you…”, her voice softened. “Look at us…”, she moved closer to Pandora so she could see herself in the mirror too, next to her.

Pandora observed their reflection in the mirror and turned her head to look at the brunette. “We don’t match…”

“Because?”

“I look younger and I don’t have powers. Let’s not mention the fact that my hair is white. I look like an albino.”

“Really, you can’t see it…”, Regina mumbled and it was more like a conclusion than a simple statement. “Emma looks older than Snow White and Snow White is her mother! What else should I say to convince you? Your hair and skin color is rare, for God’s sake! You are like a blank canvas. Let me be the painter…”

The white haired female pondered her options for while but then she looked at the other with bright blue eyes and agreed with a soft nod.

“That’s my girl…”, Regina smirked but the female bit her lower lip, nervously. The brunette looked at her quizzically so Pandora let the cat out of the bag.

“You said something before I change…”

“I can’t recall”, Regina acted like she had no memory of that. “Care to enlighten me?”

“Well…”, Pandora cleared her throat, nervously and her pale cheeks blushed.

_Oh… A sweet shade of shame. Excellent._

“Come closer. I think you have a silver hair on your nose”, the brunette lied so she could lure Pandora to come closer and so she did.

When the girl was close enough, Regina laid a kiss on Pandora’s nose and watched as the girl shut her light blue eyes, surrendered to the former Evil Queen. Regina was eager to find out how would she feel when her lips would be pressed against Pandora’s. Moving her hand to Pandora’s neck, the brunette closed her eyes and brushed her lips against hers. Awe, that was not enough. She needed more. With a sharp inhalation, she moved her lips across Pandora’s and tasted her to the fullest. The girl’s lips were soft and warm. Kissing her properly, Regina felt her heart pounding. The feeling was beyond great. She could feel that she belonged to her. Pandora let out a soft, almost soundless moan as she kissed back the former Evil Queen. Should she use her tongue? Maybe was too early. It was better that way, for the time being. The brunette snaked her arms around Pandora’s waist and pulled her slightly closer but a moan escaped the girl’s lips once again, only that now was more lustful. Regina wanted to ask her if she was alright but she simply could not stop kissing her. Her breath was rapid and it had become hard for her lungs to function but she didn’t care. It was so amazing. Pandora’s passion was like a wave of energy which was filling every cell of her body.

Their lips parted only when they both needed air. Arms still around Pandora and legs around Regina; both tangled with each other. Pandora had wrapped her legs around the brunette when she pulled her close by her waist.

“I need you…”, Regina mumbled, eyes shut and forehead against Pandora’s. “I want you…”

“I think I am wet…”, the girl whispered, ashamed.

Regina opened her eyes and looked at the girl with intense. A million butterflies flapped their wings inside her stomach and she felt her own wetness to increase.

“Oh my God, Regina, your eyes darkened…”, Pandora commented, amazed.

“It’s happening when I’m turned on”, the brunette explained and breathed heavily.

“Did I…?”

“Yes, you turned me on”, Regina filled the gaps in Pandora’s mind.

“I’m a virgin…”, the white haired girl blurted out and caught Regina out of guard.

“You… what?”

“I’ve never been with a male before. I’ve never had sex in my life, Regina…”

 _Oh, shit and I thought we were done with problems._   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!   
> Well... Pandora is a virgin but is this a real problem? I think not.   
> The real problem is that Pandora can't accept herself and she will put Regina and the others in some very important troubles.  
> More to come!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry darlings for my delayed update! I'll try -again- to update the story in time! My job is hard and I'm trying to do many things all at the same time which is difficult. I hope you understand :((
> 
> Warnings: Smut

_Three weeks later…_

Since the day that Pandora had change, everything had changed too. Things were not easy but they were not hard as well. Pandora had moved in Regina’s mansion and they were trying to build their relationship with steady, slow steps than hasty and dangerous moves. Emma was alright with their relationship –or at least she acted like it was nothing special- and Henry was happy for them. Not all the people knew about them but some close friends and family, knew. The coming out was hard for Regina but Pandora supported her and that was so important and encouraging for her. The Charming family was, of course, thrilled. The former Evil Queen had finally found true love. How could they not be happy for her? Even Zelena was by Regina’s side. Not to mention, Belle. The woman had helped her so much with Pandora’s case. Only Gold was against them. Not because they were both women but because he never liked Pandora. He claimed that Pandora was still dangerous.

Being mortal was hard for Pandora. She constantly acted recklessly and Regina was trying to protect her all the time; something that bothered Pandora. The girl was unable to control herself when she was around fire or electrical devices or water. She had no clue how to use them without magic, so her effort was an uncontrollable chaos. One day Regina was out and Pandora had tried to light the fireplace. Of course she failed but the problem was that the whole living room was on fire! Thankfully, Regina had returned sooner and eliminated the fire with her magic.

As for their sexual encounters, Regina had decided to go slow on her. They had done many things but Pandora was still uncomfortable with the whole “touch me down” issue. She didn’t want to be touched there and she didn’t want to touch Regina down as well. Regina was feeling helpless. She wanted to get an orgasm by Pandora and of course she wanted to please her partner as well but her girlfriend was too shy for these things.

Regarding Gold and the jar, the man was keeping radio silence. No one knew what he was up to…

 

………………………………………………………………………..

 

“You have to go now, mum”, Henry smiled at the brunette.

It was a beautiful, chilly morning when Regina had woken up with the desire to see her son. And so she did. She visited Emma’s house and had breakfast with Henry, Emma and Hook. It was so lovely. The Christmas was close and Emma had filled the kitchen with Christmas mugs, plates, jugs and napkins. Three and a half hours later the former Evil Queen was still there, not wanting to leave. The savior and the pirate had left one hour ago because they would go out for a walk with Snow White, prince Charming and the baby.

“I don’t want to”, Regina pulled the teenager into her embrace.

“Pandora is alone”, the boy frowned. “Don’t you want to go back to her?”

“What’s the point?”, the brunette let go of her son and shrugged.

“Mum, what’s the problem?”

“It’s nothing…”

“Come on, mum”, Henry smiled knowingly. “I can read you like an open book. Just say it.”

“Alright…”, Regina gave up quickly. Henry truly knew her very well. “Sometimes she acts like I’m not around. Like she doesn’t care…”

“Can you be more specific, please?”

The brunette let out a deep sigh. “We’re okay but sometimes she gets lost in herself. It’s weird. I feel like something’s bothering her. Something dark…”

The boy’s expression changed once he heard about darkness. He was really concerned.

“Mum, are you sure?”

“No, I am not”, the former Evil Queen shook her head. “It’s just a feeling.”

“I bet everything’s fine”, Henry faked a grin and Regina fell for it.

“You’re right…”, she smiled and got up. “I think I have to go now.”

“Yeah”, the boy stood up as well and hugged his second mother.

Regina embraced him tightly and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

“I love you, Henry…”

“I love you too mum…”

 

………………………………………………………………….

 

“Pandora!!”, the brunette called the white haired female loudly once she entered the mansion. Thankfully the place was in one piece. She took off her coat and shoes and put them neatly in their place. Pandora was not around but maybe she was upstairs.

Ascending the stairs, Regina called her again. “Pandora!!!”

“I’m not deaf!”, a hoarse voice sounded from the bedroom and Regina giggled. She awakened her.

Entering the bedroom, the brunette laughed her lungs out. Pandora was lying on the bed like a starfish and the bedcovers were on the floor. Her white hair was a mess and her eyes were red from the sleep. She yawned as she settled on the bed in a lotus position.

“Morning, sleepy-head…”, Regina purred and joined Pandora on the bed who giggled and snuggled in her arms. The brunette embraced her tightly.

“Where were you?”, the white haired woman questioned, coughing slightly to clear her throat.

“I went to see my son.”

“Oh. How is he?”

“He’s alright”, Regina breathed out as she laid some featherlight kisses on Pandora’s hair.

“Where’s my morning kiss?”, Pandora putted like a little girl as she pulled back and looked at the other with big blue eyes.

Regina said nothing. She only lay down on her back and run her fingers over Pandora’s naked thigh. The white haired girl bit her lower lip as she watched the other and pulled some white locks behind her ear. She brought her hand over Regina’s face and caressed her cheek and chin with her fingertips but then she lowered her hand to her neck and cleavage. The brunette shivered once she felt her touch. Pandora straddled her and lowered her body over Regina’s to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. The former Evil Queen moaned softly, placing her palms on Pandora’s buttocks. Oh, how much she wanted her…

The girl had already started unbuttoning Regina’s shirt when the brunette started moving her hips against Pandora’s.

“You’re so sexy…”, Pandora mumbled, her lips caressing the other’s chin softly.

“Mhm…”, a low moan sounded from the depth of Regina’s throat.

Pandora smiled against the brunette’s skin as she pulled the shirt aside and laid some kisses on Regina’s chest, touching with her fingers the lacy bra.

The former Evil Queen felt so hot and wet that her body temperature rose higher than normally. She cupped the girl’s buttocks so hard that Pandora winced slightly.

“I’m sorry but…”, the brunette breathed heavily. “…I want to feel you…”

“I think I can try something on you which worked on me…”, the white haired female winked at her, biting her lips.

“Go on...”

Pandora removed Regina’s shirt and bra, still straddling her and locked her arms above her head keeping them steady with her own hands.

“Don’t move…”, the girl mumbled, looking at the other’s eyes intensely and started kissing her neck and jawline softly.

Regina was feeling uncomfortable with her legs pressed against each other underneath Pandora’s body. She just wanted her core to be brushed against Pandora’s; at least with fabric in the middle.

“Please…”, her begging voice rang inside Pandora’s head and the girl pulled back, exhaling softly.

“Alright…”, she responded like she knew what Regina had in mind. That girl was full of surprises.

Pandora slipped away from her and removed her short nightgown, remaining only with her panties. Regina’s eyes darkened at once when she laid eyes on the girl’s –almost- naked body. With a swift move, Pandora threw down Regina’s clothes and hers and took off the brunette’s pants as well, leaving her with a lacy thong. Regina grabbed the pillow above her head and sank her fingers in it, watching the girl as she rammed between her opened legs. The brunette wrapped her legs around Pandora’s waist and moved her pelvis upwards to have a connection with the girl’s core. A loud, passionate moan escaped her half open lips once the white haired female leaned over her and captured one of her nipples with her lips, holding Regina’s arms above her head tightly. The former Evil Queen was going crazy. She could feel that her privates were soaking wet. Pandora grazed Regina’s nipple gently and watched as the woman groaned lustfully; brown eyes almost completely closed. The girl sucked the nipple for a while and then let it free, fixing her attention to the other nipple. As the sweet torture continued, Regina moaned again and again passionately. Her body was slightly shaking underneath Pandora’s and her heartbeat sped up.

“I am…”, the brunette let out a moan, breathing heavily. “I am about to… to…”, she trailed off, feeling extremely stimulated. “I’m about to… come…”

Pandora’s lips formed a satisfied smile once she heard her and licked her breast, leaving the nipple untouched for a while. Then she took the hard nipple inside her mouth and pushed her pelvis closer to Regina, letting their cores to brush against one another. The brunette’s body went rigid when her wetness came in touch with Pandora’s. She could feel her heat even with their panties in the middle. Moaning loudly, the brunette embraced her first orgasm as her body trembled. The waves of the ultimate pleasure washed her body like an electric blow and left her body soft and light.

Regina’s vision was still blurry when she half opened her brown eyes. The girl was all over her and her light blue eyes were fixed on her.

“That was amazing…”, the brunette whispered and exhaled deeply. A soft smile had formed on her face.

“Your cheeks are red and I can still feel your heartbeat…”, Pandora tilted her head to one side as she watched the woman.

“It was an excellent orgasm, baby…”

“You deserved it.”

Regina shut her eyes, feeling peaceful and smiled warmly as she wrapped her arms around Pandora who lay on top of her with her head on her chest.

“I want my powers back…”, the white haired female mumbled, snuggling to Regina. “Everything would be better. Things would be more fabulous.”

“Who cares about your powers?”, the brunette made circles on the girl’s back slowly. “I don’t.”

“I do.”

“Pandora, come on…”

“Who is more powerful around here?”, she questioned after a minute in silence.

Regina considered it for a second or two.

“Gold and Emma”, she responded.

“I can’t be a hero but…”, Pandora paused for a little while before continuing. “…but I could be the Dark One.”

Regina’s hand froze over Pandora’s back and her eyes opened widely in shock. _She can’t be serious…_ Looking down at the girl, she raised her head a little bit.

“You’re joking, right? This is outrageous.”

Pandora moved her head and fixed her light blue eyes on Regina, glaring at her with a stern expression on her face. Cold sweat washed Regina from head to toe.

“Don’t you think I’m capable of doing this? I can still make them kill each other even without magic powers, Regina!”

The former Evil Queen could not respond. Oh, that should be a new round of problems…   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pandora doesn't want to be touched down and she doesn't want to touch Regina down there as well. The thing is... why? What's her problem?  
> She is a weird creature and now she wants to become the Dark One. Is it possible? How far is she willing to go to get her powers back?  
> More to come! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Too many feels :/

The next morning, Regina woke up feeling cold. She pulled the covers over her shoulders and yawned two or three times. Pandora was not by her side and that seemed strange. Where was she? Looking at the clock, the brunette frowned. It was still very early. She pulled herself up and wrapped a robe around her.

“Good Lord…”, she mumbled, voice hoarse. “She let the window open…”

Wearing her slippers, she walked up to the window and looked outside. The garden was…. Oh God! It was white! It snowed last night! Giggling, the brunette grabbed the latch of the window and she was about to close it when she heard voices coming under the window.

_“The darkness will devour you, Pandora!”_

Oh. That voice was familiar. She should be…

_“Don’t be ridiculous, Hope. I am the darkness.”_

Hope… Pandora had summoned Hope. Regina’s breath hitched inside her throat but she continued listening in silence.

_“Being the Dark One is not an easy task…”, said Hope._

_“I was the angel of death, Hope! Give me a break!”, Pandora hissed._

_“You were a dark angel. Not a crafty, manipulative, treacherous and cunning creature.”_

_Pandora’s dry laughter sounded clearly._

_“I was exactly that creature, Hope!”_

_“You’ll lose the Queen…”, Hope clearly attempted to turn on the tables on her._

_“Regina loves me!”, Pandora sounded offended. “I can’t be the hero she wants me to be but I can become the Dark One!”_

_“And she will hate you forever!”, Hope snapped._

Silence. Dead silence. Regina felt that it was going to be the end of the conversation so she snapped her fingers and transported herself magically in the kitchen. She leaned over the countertop with her palms pressing against the hard material and sighed deeply. That was so disappointing. Wasn’t she enough for Pandora? Her powers were clearly more important than love. Shaking her head she grabbed two mugs and started preparing coffee for herself and Pandora. When she finished, she heard the front door. A few seconds later she felt two arms snaking around her waist from behind and she shut her brown eyes.

“Morning beautiful…”, Pandora purred, face buried in Regina’s neck.

“I told you I hate it when people step inside the house wearing shoes”, the brunette snapped, without turning around.

“But I’m barefoot, Regina”, the girl pulled back her arms and let the former Evil Queen turn around, checking if that was true.

“Good”, Regina nodded but then she realized that Pandora looked different. She was wearing black leggings with a black sweater and a matching black knitted hat with panda ears. Her white hair was wavy and her lips had a cherry color. She looked so cute.

“I like your hat…”, the brunette tried not to smile but she failed.

“Snow gave it to me”, Pandora grinned.

Regina laughed, forgetting about Pandora’s talk with Hope. It was nothing serious, right? …Erm, right.     

“Do you want to go for a run?”, the girl questioned happily. “It’s amazing outside.”

“But it’s cold.”

“I’ll keep you warm, your majesty”, Pandora winked at her and Regina leaned in for a quick kiss that soon turned into a passionate one. The girl moaned softly during the heated kiss and the former Evil Queen bit Pandora’s lower lip gently.

“Come on…”, Pandora chuckled when they parted. “Let’s go.”

“Alright, let me change.”

“Oh, Regina!”, the girl pouted. “Use your damn magic and change clothes!”

“Good God, you’re so impatient!”, Regina glared at her and in a second she changed into warm sweatpants and sweater, all in white color.

“You need a matching hat…”, Pandora smirked.

Another snap of her fingers and Regina gained a white knitted hat with panda ears, just like Pandora’s.

“And now I look ridiculous!”, the former Evil Queen stated.

“No way!”, the girl laughed. “You look great…”

“Alright, whatever… Let’s go.”

 

…………………………………………………………..

 

Outside was simply wonderful. The scenery was spectacular; roads, trees, houses all snowy. The faint sunlight brightened the snow and the singing birds were giving a pleasant touch to the whole scene. Regina refused to run but she settled for a walk. Pandora was holding her hand the whole time, like they were love-struck teenagers but the brunette couldn’t care less. She enjoyed the intimacy.

They were walking down the main street of Storybrooke, laughing about a cat which tried to invade Regina’s mansion two days ago, when they bumped into Emma and Henry. The savior shared a smile with the brunette when the boy run to her and hugged her tightly.

“Hey guys…”, the blonde coughed, still maintaining her kind smile.

Pandora eyed her warily.

“Hello Emma…”, a warm smile spread across Regina’s face.

“Mum”, Henry grinned. “Pandora.”

“Hi”, Pandora returned with a modest smile. That was awkward.

“Where are you guys going?”, the savior questioned.

“Oh…”, Regina cleared her throat. “We decided to go for a walk.”

Pandora pushed her hands inside her pockets since her connection with Regina was long gone due to Henry’s hug.

“Matching hats?” Emma smirked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah…”, Regina let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

“So where are you going?”, Pandora decided to change topic since she noticed her girlfriend’s discomfort.

“We were going home”, the boy hastened to reply, backing off of his mother. “Would you like to join us?”

Emma glared at him and she tried to do it discreetly but it was still obvious. The brunette noticed it and felt offended at once. That was obnoxious! The white haired girl glanced at Regina and got her feelings at once, reaching her hand out for her. Regina grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and intertwined their fingers. She felt a wave of serenity straight away. What a heaven.

“Perhaps another time, honey”, the brunette smiled at her son.

The boy looked at their joined hands and tried to suppress a huge grin but it was partly a failure. He leaned closer to lay a kiss on Regina’s cheek and whispered to her ear.

“I’m so happy for you, mum.”

Regina just grinned and kissed him back, locking eyes with him knowingly.

“Let’s go, Gina”, the girl requested.

 _Gina?!_  

The former Evil Queen turned to look at the white haired girl with an arched eyebrow and a muffled giggle sounded from Henry’s side. Only Emma looked irritated.

“Yes, let’s better go”, Regina agreed and said goodbye to the other’s, kissing her son before he walked away along with a frustrated savior.

“What was that?”, the brunette questioned sternly, once they were safely far away from the others.

“What?”, Pandora acted like she had no idea, walking side by side with her.

“Since when you call me _Gina?_ ”,

“Since I want to irritate the savior who is jealous of you”, she snapped.

Regina squeezed her hand and smiled secretly. Actually, that was… sweet. Pandora huffed, eyes staring at the road, probably thinking about the savior’s reaction. The brunette stopped walking and pulled the girl close, snaking her arms around her waist.

“Regina, what are you doing?!”, Pandora gasped, placing her hands on the woman’s shoulders. “What if someone sees us??”

“I don’t really care…”, Regina mumbled, smiling. Her lips only inches away from Pandora’s.

“I thought you did…”, the girl whispered, eyes staring at the brunette’s plump lips.

“I love you…”, the former Evil Queen moved her hands to Pandora’s back and caressed her softly. Her voice was smooth and warm.

Her gaze cascaded up, meeting Regina’s chocolate brown eyes and she gulped.

“I love you, Regina…”, she finally said, voice low and filled with affection and desire.

The brunette leaned closer but she let Pandora make the next move and so she did. The girl moved her hands to Regina’s neck and kissed her lips so softly that the brunette moaned into her mouth.

“What if someone hears us…?”, Pandora managed to whisper in between soft and gentle kisses.

“I would fuck you in the middle of the street, if I had the chance…”, Regina mumbled boldly and the girl giggled.

“Language please, your majesty…”

Regina chuckled and captured Pandora’s lips, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Hugging her closely, the girl kissed her passionately, letting her tongue caress hers in a moist dance of lust and desire. A sweet numbness spread all over Regina’s body during their hot kiss but the beautiful feeling faded when a magical force parted them violently, throwing Regina away like she was a tree leaf. The brunette landed two feet away from Pandora who was also on the ground.

“What the…”, Regina hissed, standing up and looked around to spot the person who caused that to them.

It was not so difficult. Gold was standing before them and he looked extremely angry.

“What on earth, Gold?!”, the brunette growled.

Pandora pulled herself up and shifted her gaze to the former Evil Queen. “Regina, back off! This is my fight!”

“What?? What do you mean it’s your fight?”

Gold stepped forward; his facial features had been altered from the hatred and the malice. “Where the hell is Belle??”, he growled at Pandora.

_What? He’s looking for Belle?_

“Give me the dagger and you’ll get your woman back!”, Pandora hissed.

“What is going on here??”, Regina glared at them both.

“Oh, you don’t know”, the man smirked, partly ironically and partly enraged. “Your beloved girlfriend wants to be the Dark One and decided to blackmail me by taking Bell away. She wants the dagger.”

Regina felt like her whole world was falling apart. Her gaze shifted back to Pandora slowly and shook her head with disappointment.

“Belle was the one who helped me understand that you were in love with me and there was still hope… and… this is your way to thank her…”

“Regina, you don’t understand…”, Pandora attempted to near her girlfriend but Gold used his magic to make the girl froze in place.

“Obviously I don’t and I never will!”, the brunette yelled, voice broken into million pieces as her eyes watered. “Love is not enough for you! Power is the only thing that matters!”

“I LOVE YOU!”, the white haired girl cried out desperately. “Can’t you see it?? I want to be equal with you! Everything I do, I do it for you, Regina!”

“Bullshit!!”, Regina yelled at her as tears rolled down her cheeks. Oh, that was so hard. So freaking unbearable.

“You have one last chance…”, Gold interrupted; voice low like a menacing whisper. “Give me back Belle.”

“Over my dead body…”, Pandora laughed evilly.

“Yours or Regina’s?”, the man smirked wickedly and extended his left hand. The jar appeared and Pandora lost the color of her face.

“NO!!!!”, the girl cried out but the last thing Regina could remember was a reddish light. Gold had opened the jar and the container had consumed her…  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regina got lost inside the jar... Does this mean she is dead?  
> Where is Belle?  
> Will Pandora ever become the Dark One?  
> ....What will happen next?!  
> Stay tuned for updates! ;))


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why it took me so long to write the next chapter... I suppose I was not satisfied with how the story was developing. I still have some doubts but... it's okay.   
> Just please let me know if you like it! I'll appreciate any kind of comments!

_Still in Storybrooke…_

Gold’s invisible magic bounds vanished the moment Regina got lost inside the jar and Pandora freed herself, growling her lungs out full of rage. Her whole body was shaking furiously just like her breath was coming out of her lips rapidly. She had never been so mad before. Never.

“HOPE!!”, the girl cried out, summoning the cherry haired woman who used to live inside the jar.

 A soft pop afterwards and Hope appeared between them.

“What… what happened, Pandora?”, the woman frowned, looking at them both.

“Regina is inside the fucking jar!!!”, Pandora exclaimed angrily.

Hope’s jaw dropped open in shock. “But… how…?”

“Where is Belle??”, Gold interrupted, impudently.

Pandora shifted her light blue –yet murderous- gaze back at him. “Will you shut up already??”

“Pandora…”, Hope gasped. “What did you do…?”

“Just tell me where the jar leads to!”, the girl hissed.

“It leads to Mount Olympus but…”, Hope paused for a second, considering her upcoming words. “Regina is mortal and she is still alive… She can’t pass the gates to Mount Olympus…”

Gold chuckled and the women looked at him quizzically.

“I am the master of the jar, ladies.”

“Explain!”, Pandora barked.

“It’s a portal”, stated the man simply.

“And it leads…to??”, Pandora was losing her temper. If she could use magic, Gold would be thin dust by now.

“I can’t tell you this”, the man smirked wickedly. “The only detail I can share with you, dearie, is that your beloved Queen is strangling alone to fight with her own demons.”

Pandora felt a piercing pain in her heart. “I swear to Zeus and all the Olympian Gods…”, her voice an evil, menacing whisper. “I will make you suffer the moment I get my powers back…”

“Challenge accepted, dearie”, Gold returned the murderous glare. “You have two days to bring me back Belle, or else Regina dies.”

With those words Gold disappeared in purple mist.

“Where is Belle, Pandora?”, the cherry haired woman neared her.

“Somewhere safe, trust me.”

“Can I?”

“Epimetheus trusts me!”

“Wait…”, Hope locked eyes with her. “You… didn’t…”

“Yes, I used him to help me with my plan”, Pandora shrugged indifferently.

“Pandora!”, the woman huffed. “He is a fool!”

“Indeed but he was in love with me.”  

“So was Zeus!”, Hope glared at her.

“So what??”, Pandora affronted her. “You think I care?? Epimetheus took Belle away with her permission! Belle is sick of Gold’s malicious behavior! She wants her husband back. I made a promise to her. I will not kill him for me to become the Dark One.”

“Then how on earth will you become the Dark One?”

“By changing the Present”, Pandora allowed herself to smile slightly.

“The Author…”, Hope mumbled.

“Henry…”, Pandora’s smile widened.

 

…………………………………………………………………………

 

_Where am I…?_

The question was spinning inside Regina’s head whilst she was lying on the ground. Her limbs were numb and her whole body was cold. She could feel that the soil was rough and frozen but she was still unable to open her eyes. The air smelled of damp and rottenness. Her nostrils wrinkled and she coughed, not being able to tolerate the awful smell. The latest events in Storybrooke invaded her mind and she gasped, feeling disappointed and hurt. Pandora had betrayed her. Her one true love had chosen power and magic over love. Regina acted so foolishly. She should know that a sly creature like Pandora who had been created only for the sake of Zeus’ vengeance, could never fall in love with someone. She may have had a heart but she was still senseless.

Shutting down her mind, Regina gathered all her strength and pulled her aching body up slowly. Kneeling on the rough ground, she felt dizzy but she decided that it was time to open her eyes and so she did. For a couple of seconds her vision was blurry but things got better a while later. Her gaze wandered around, tracking the unknown place. It was chilly and the soil was black and cold. The trees were very tall and they looked extremely old. Next to her there was a lake but the water had a strange dark grey color. _Maybe because it’s nighttime and I can’t see clearly…_ Yeah, maybe. Shifting her gaze up, she realized that it was a starry night. The blue-black sky was full of tiny little stars and a full moon.

Sighing, Regina got up and checked herself. She was still wearing her clothes but they were dirty and her knitted hat was lying on the ground near her feet. _The hat with the panda ears…_

“Damn you, Pandora…”, she whispered and she threw a fireball right on the hat and it turned into ashes in a second.

“Whoa, be careful lady!”, a female voice scared the hell out of Regina who looked around frightened. “Hey! Down here!”

The former Evil Queen followed the voice and spotted a… a mermaid in the lake. The girl had auburn long hair and she was very young. Also she was extremely beautiful. _Well, of course she is not like Pandora…_ Regina huffed with that thought.

“I’m sorry…”, the brunette apologized. “I just wanted to get rid of something.”

“Who are you?”, the mermaid questioned in happy voice.

Regina’s eyebrow shot up. “Regina Mills.”  

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you!”, she giggled. “I am Melody.”

_Melody… This is so familiar…_

“Oh my God…”, Regina’s eyes opened widely in surprise. “You are Ariel’s daughter.”

“Yes I am!”, Melody grinned. “You know my mother?”

The former Evil Queen nodded and neared the lake, kneeling down on the ground just so she could be closer to the girl.

“Why are you here?”, the mermaid frowned.

“The thing is I don’t know where I am”, the brunette sighed. “Can you enlighten me?”

“This is Neverland.”

Regina could swear on God; her heart stopped when she heard where she was.

“Not again…”, she mumbled disappointed.

There was no way out of Neverland. The island was deserted and she knew it perfectly well. Peter Pan was dead and Tinker Bell was in Storybrooke. That seemed more like a death sentence for Regina…

 

………………………………………………………………….

 

_Back in Storybrooke_

_Emma’s house…_

“Can I talk to Henry, please?”, Pandora was standing at the front door, alone. Hope had decided to stay out of this. It was better that way.

Emma frowned confused, scratching the back of her neck. “Why? What happened? Where’s Regina?”

“I can explain everything, just let me talk to your son, Emma.”

The blonde stepped aside and let the other walk in the house.

“He’s upstairs”, Emma stated.

Both women went upstairs and the savior knocked on Henry’s door twice. The door opened some seconds later and the boy frowned when he saw Pandora without his second mother. The former dark angel stepped in the room, followed by Emma.

“Henry…”, the white haired female spoke first, placing her hands on the boy’s shoulders. It was pretty obvious that she had something really important to say.

“What is it?”, Henry looked straight into her eyes.

“You still have the enchanted quill, right?”, the woman questioned.

“I do, but…”, the boy frowned confused. “What do you want?”

“I want you to make me the Dark One…”

“WHAT??”, Emma interfered furiously. “That’s absurd!”

“Is it?!”, Pandora turned to her, growling. “I want to save Regina’s ass and you’ll blame me for that??”

“What..?”, Henry stepped back, worried. “What happened to my mother?”

Pandora let out a sigh, bringing her hand to her forehead and rubbed it slowly.

“She has been lost inside the jar…”

“YOUR JAR??”, the savior exclaimed.

The white haired female nodded. “I want to be sincere with you two…”, she said, voice low. “I wanted my powers back so I thought to become the Dark One… In my mind it was the only way so… I summoned Hope and I asked for her help. She refused to help me and I can’t blame her… She was right. But I didn’t stop there. I asked Epimetheus’ help and he didn’t refuse. He took Belle away and I tried to make a deal with Gold. His dagger for Belle. I didn’t think of the consequences… Gold had the jar and he trapped Regina inside of it. I have two days to find a way to save Regina, otherwise he will kill her and I’m not willing to give back Belle…”, Pandora looked at them both. “She went away willingly. Belle agreed with my plan… It’s the only way I can save Regina and of course… it’s the perfect way for Gold to become a good husband for Belle.”

“This is outrageous…”, Emma mumbled, raising her arms in the air. “You have no idea how it feels to be the Dark One, Pandora…”

“My mother is lost because of you…”, the boy whispered, glaring at Pandora.

“I’m willing to do anything to save her, Henry…”, she looked at him sadly.

“Can’t we just bring Regina back using the quill?”, the blonde questioned.

“No”, the boy shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“Pandora, listen to me”, Emma turned to her and grabbed her shoulders tightly. Her blue orbs were looking at her intensely. “Don’t do this. You created the darkness but trust me you need a strong heart to stand against the power of dark magic. It will absorb you right away.”

“You don’t trust me”, Pandora glared at her.

“It’s not about trust!”, the savior shouted to make herself crystal clear. “It’s about experience and knowledge. You think you can handle it??”

“I would do anything for Regina.”

“You don’t want to become the Dark One to save Regina. That is only one reason for you to accomplish your main purpose.”

Pandora pushed her away, growling. “Shut up! I want her back!”

“You will destroy us!”, Emma growled back.

“I don’t give a shit about you!”

“I WILL DO IT!”, Henry cut them off abruptly and both women snapped their heads back to him.

“Oh shit…”, the savior mumbled. That could be a total disaster…   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Epimetheus is a hero from Greek mythology.  
> 2\. Yes, we are back in Neverland. I love this place but imagine it deserted... It's creepy.   
> 3\. Melody is indeed Ariel's daughter in Disney's stories but it had never been played out in OUAT. Although I added her because I found it interesting.   
> 4\. I'm not sure if the quill is existing but in my story Henry needs it to change the situation. 
> 
> The main question is....... what will happen when Pandora becomes the Dark One?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, guys!  
> I know... I had to update the story sooner but the holidays and work got the best of me :((  
> I will try to update the story whenever I can because I don't really have much free time now...  
> But! I promise to continue with the story.  
> I love it and I hope you love it too... :))

_Vault of the Dark One in the Enchanted Forest_

The feeling of pressure that her body had been suffered due to the reformation was horrible. Her lungs and her head were in a terrible pain but the first thing she had tried to do when her eyes had been opened was an assessment of the situation. She found herself garbed in a dirty cloak and she was standing over a circular seal which was carved with symbols. The tomoe, the triquetra, the triangle, the Eye of Providence and the pentagram. Circling all the other symbols was the Ouroboros, which represented cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself. She was the new Dark One. Pandora couldn’t suppress a victorious smile. She, finally, had everything she wanted. Unlimited power and magic. Stepping away from the carved seal, she raised her hands and examined them carefully. Her almond shaped nails were a bit longer and silver just like hard steel. Oh, she needed a mirror to check out her full appearance. Only by thinking about it, a large mirror appeared in front of her and she neared the object to see her reflection.

She looked amazing. Removing the cloak, Pandora observed the reflection in the mirror. Her hair was shorter. The A-line bob haircut had a royal blue color at the base which was melting down to snow white blonde platinum. Her facial features were still the same, if not more beautiful. The almond shaped eyes had the same light blue color and her cheeks were rosy just like her plump lips. The only thing she disliked was the outfit. In a blink of an eye she snapped her fingers and she changed into leather leggings, thigh high boots with stiletto heels and a tight corset with a leather blazer, all in black color.

“And now…”, she whispered. “… I have to go back in Storybrooke.”

 

_A few hours ago in Storybrooke…_

_“I WILL DO IT!”, Henry cut them off abruptly and both women snapped their heads back to him._

_“Oh shit…”, the savior mumbled. That could be a total disaster._

“Wait”, said the boy sternly. “I’m going to get the book and the quill.”

Emma nodded without saying anything and Pandora sat on the bed corner, sighing. The moment Henry stepped out of the room Emma turned to look at her.

“Where’s Belle?”, she questioned.

“She is with the fairies. Blue knows the exact location.”

“You said that Epimetheus helped you.”

“He did but I couldn’t trust him completely. He’s a fool”, Pandora looked up at Emma.

The savior took a moment before talking again.

“Do you really love her?”

Pandora’s gaze cascaded down to the floor. “What do you think?”

“I’m asking you”, the blonde crossed her arms.

“I love her more than I can stand…”

“Try not to hurt her when you become the Dark One”, said the savior coldly.

Pandora shut her eyes and never responded. Well, maybe Emma was right. Would it be easy for Pandora to not hurt Regina? There was no answer to this question.

The next moment Henry entered the room with the book and the quill and the conversation ended silently.

“So”, the boy placed the objects on his desk. “What do you want me to write?”, he looked at Pandora.

“Alright…”, the white haired woman stood up, breathing deeply. “Write that the Dark One’s dagger appeared in my hand.”

“You won’t kill Gold, right?”, Emma interrupted them.

“No, of course not”, she hastened to reply and the savior nodded.

“Give me a second”, Henry opened the book and started writing.

When he finished and looked at Pandora, she felt a strange heat wave penetrating her hand and the next second the dagger appeared in her palm.

“Oh great…”, she sighed relieved and grabbed the dagger tightly. “Now write that my name appeared on the dagger instead of Gold’s but he remained healthy.”

“Mhm…”, the boy fixed his eyes on the book and wrote what Pandora said but when he finished, Pandora had been long gone.

“What happened now??”, Henry left the quill next to the book and looked at his mother worried.

“The Vault of the Dark One absorbed her…”, the blond sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “That’s why she disappeared…”

“So… she’s the Dark One now”, stated Henry.

“She is”, Emma nodded. “And I never thought it would be that easy…”

 

_Storybrooke: The return of the Dark One_

When the portal closed and Pandora stepped foot on the ground a flock of birds flew away terrified. Seeing the place with her freshly reformatted eyes was a new experience for her. Storybrooke seemed kind of different but in all honesty it wasn’t. Only Pandora was different and that was not a very good sign. At least not for Rumpelstiltskin.

The fresh Dark One flicked her hand slightly and a black mist transported her to Gold’s residence. The place seemed deserted but it was not. She could feel his presence nearby.

“Hey, wolf… wolf, are you there?”, she called him with a devilish smirk on her face and ran a finger over the surface of a table. “Dusty.”

No answer. She walked further inside the house, looking around the objects and the decoration. It was pretty obvious that Belle had helped him with the decoration. The place was perfect for a desperate housewife like Belle. Pandora laughed with that thought.

“Don’t hide from me”, said the female Dark One out loud, smiling. “I know where you are…”, she whispered and ascended the stairs.

The floor had three doors that were closed. She had to pick but it was not that difficult. She could hear his rapid breathing easily like he was standing in front of her. With a flick of her hand the third door opened widely and the man gasped surprised.

“Please…”, he begged. “Don’t kill me…”

Pandora walked up to the door and entered the door slowly. Her expression was stern and cold. Rumpelstiltskin was curled up on the bed, covered with blankets and the room was dark. He was trembling like an unprotected child in front of the female Dark One and that was at least pathetic.

“I want two things from you and I want them now”, the female spoke calmly.

“Whatever you want…”, he mumbled and dared to look at her directly in her eyes. “Whatever…”

“I want Regina back and the jar.”

“Wh-.. What about… Belle?”

“First things first… _dearie!”,_ she mocked him.

“The jar… is in there…”, he glanced at the wardrobe.

The female Dark One walked there and opened that wardrobe without touching it. The jar was indeed there, covered with a piece of black velvet. She pulled it out with her own hands.

“Where is she?”, questioned Pandora.

“Neverland…”

“You sent her to Neverland?!”, the woman growled. “The place is deserted!!”

“You can… create a portal using the jar and--…”

“I know what needs to be done!!”, she cut him off angrily and huffed as her black mist transported her to Regina’s mansion, along with the jar.

“You… piece of shit…”, she mumbled enraged as she placed the jar on the floor in the living room and held both her hands over the magical object.

Her light blue eyes shut and Regina’s face invaded her mind. She swirled her hands over the jar and a green light sprang out of it, creating the coveted portal.

“Regina…”, she whispered, knowing that her voice would echo around the place in Neverland so Regina could be able to hear her. “The portal will lead you back to Storybrooke… Jump… Do it…”

Pandora opened her eyes, waiting for Regina to jump out of the portal. The expectation was growing more as the minutes were passing. She would not be able to hold the portal open forever.

“Regina, please… Come through the portal…”, she almost begged her.

Her hands started shaking. Five seconds more. Four… Three… Two. One.

“Damn you, Regina!”, she hissed as the portal closed and Pandora knelt down, breathing fast.

“Language… please…”, Regina’s voice sounded from behind the female Dark One and Pandora turned around with eyes wide open.

“You’re back…”, Pandora stuttered.

“Unfortunately I am…”         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Pandora is the new Dark One.   
> How will Regina react to this fact?  
> Will Pandora be able to maintain her relationship with the former Evil Queen?  
> Is their love strong enough?  
> We shall wait and see.... ;))


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I know you love SwanQueen but this story is not about them. Although, I added some pretty interesting parts that will satisfy your preferences :)) Enjoy the new chapter!

The female Dark One stood there, looking at the former Evil Queen with a confused expression on her face. Something was terribly wrong. Regina should be happy. Pandora was healthy and she was back to Storybrooke in one piece.

The brunette straightened her body and glared at Pandora. The new Dark One was so not the same as before. _Pandora was different._ Regina observed the female’s appearance for quite some time. Her hair, her posture, her clothes… Everything was different.

“Are you alright?”, questioned Pandora.

“Get out of my place…”, the brunette said in low voice.

“…What?”

“I said… GET OUT OF MY PLACE! NOW!”, Regina could not hold herself back. She yelled at her enraged and pointed the living room’s door.

Pandora narrowed her eyes as she looked at the former Evil Queen. Oh, she was changing.

“We are alike, Regina”, said she.

“Come again?!”

“You are still dark. I’m a version of you now.”

“Pandora, I’m warning you…”, the brunette breathed heavily as she fixed her eyes on her. “Leave now or I’ll kill you.”

The Dark One huffed. “You don’t have the guts, lady!”

Regina frowned. Could it be possible? Where was Pandora? That girl was not like the woman who was standing in front of her at the moment. She just sighed.

“You know what?”, Regina smiled but a lump went up to her throat. It was sad. Thoughts and realizations drowned her in the worst kind of sorrow. “You were my true love…”, she whispered. “But you disappointed me so… so miserably…”, she shook her head.

“Oh, Regina…”, Pandora chuckled but her eyes shone. Her grief could not be hidden so easily. Tears blurred her eyes for a second. “Don’t act like you loved me. Emma Swan was your other half. I didn’t disappoint you. You knew very well, from the very first moment, that I was dark. I just confirmed your theories.”

“No…”, the brunette retorted calmly. “I believed in you, Pandora. I loved you. You know… I was dark, as well, but I changed and I hoped the same for you too…”

“It’s not the same! God!”, the female Dark One growled. “You chose to be dark! I’ve been born dark! Do you think is _that_ easy for me to change?? Well… Think again, your majesty!”

“You said it was easy…”, Regina looked away. The tears were now running down her cheeks. “Love can ch--..”

“Love is a weakness!”, Pandora cut her off sharply.

Regina froze instantly. That phrase destroyed her life. Pandora could not believe that crap. Not her. She was about to respond when the Dark One spoke again.

“You’re wasting my time, Regina”, said she coldly. “Go back to your miserable life and forget about me. Anyway, it’s what you really want.”

“What?”, Regina frowned confused.

“Me. Out of your life. So be it!”, Pandora snapped her fingers and disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving the former Evil Queen all alone.

 

………………………………………………………………………….

 

The next morning, Regina found herself outside the savior’s apartment. Her mood was awful, just like the weather outside. Foggy and cold. One minute later the blonde opened the door.

“Regina…”, she smiled widely. “You are back.”

Regina just nodded. She didn’t have the strength to say “good morning”. It was not a good morning and Emma knew it perfectly well.

“Well, come on in”, she stepped aside and let the brunette walk in. Then she closed the door. “Coffee?”

“No… Thanks”, she mumbled. Her voice was shattered. “Do you know what happened yest--…”

“Yes”, the blonde took her to the living room and they both settled on the couch. “Gold called me last night.”

“So… you don’t know… the whole story…”, Regina stuttered.

“Regina, take a moment. I’m here. You can talk to me whenever you are ready…”

And so she did. She talked to her and expressed all her feelings. It was a difficult task but she managed to say everything to Emma with all the details. When she finished, Emma looked away. Regina’s eyes were fixed on the floor the whole time. Like she was not able to look at Emma directly in her eyes.

“Regina…” the blonde broke the silence. “I’m glad you’re back and everything’s over. At least, _this_ is over. But you have to admit that she saved you.”

“No, Emma!”, the brunette huffed angrily. “She was responsible for everything! If she was not so ambitious, then she would never try to be the Dark One and I would never end up heartbroken like that!”

“Don’t forget about Daniel and Robin.”

“They were not my true love”, she corrected her. “I loved them with all my heart but she…”, Regina trailed off.

“She was your happy ending after all”, Emma finished Regina’s sentence.

“She was. But not anymore…”

Emma smiled as they both look at each other. “Please, Regina. You can lie to everyone else, but not to me.”

“Are you with me or not?!”

“Of course I’m with you. But she is not herself. And you must help her.”

“How?”

 _-Pop-_ Black mist swirled in front of them.

“Oh, I don’t need anyone’s help”, Pandora, who appeared uninvited in Emma’s living room, smiled widely but so coldly.

“Why are you here? What do you want?”, Emma glared at her with restrained anger.

“Oh, look at you too!”, the female Dark One mocked at them but in an ironically sweet way. “The two love birds! How romantic!”

“Just… don’t…”, Regina lowered her head, without looking at her.

“You disgust me…”, Pandora whispered with aversion. “We must rename you to Obnoxious Queen!”

“Stop!”, the savior stood up, clenching her fists. “Leave us! Now!”

The Dark One’s eyes fixed on her and her smile grew bigger but the irony overflowing through every cell of hers. “I don’t know if anyone informed you but you can’t command me.”

“Why are you doing this?”, Regina looked up at her and for a mere moment they locked eyes, like they used to. She felt it. Pandora was evil but a part of her was still pure like the snow.

“Because I can”, the Dark One averted her eyes from Regina. “Also, because you deserve the pain.”

“Pain?”, Regina stood up, ready to face her, using the same weapons. “You don’t know anything about pain. But I can show you.”

Emma glanced at Regina and frowned. What she was up to?

“Oh really?”, Pandora chuckled. “Go ahead. Amaze me.”

The brunette turned and looked at Emma. She neared her and caressed her cheek softly. The savior didn’t move away. She knew that Regina had something in mind and she trusted her completely. The next moment Regina closed the distance and kissed Emma on the lips with affection. Pandora clenched her fists enraged but she couldn’t do anything. She could feel the pain and that was something she wanted to reduce somehow but apparently it was not that easy. Emma responded to the kiss, wanting to help Regina get what she wanted. When their lips parted, Regina breathed heavily, not stepping away from the other.

“You are… everything…”, she whispered, resting her forehead against Emma’s. “How could I not see it earlier…?”

Pandora felt… rejected. Left out. Once again her vitals felt the piercing pain of a lost love. Her heart almost… cracked. She said too much. She overplayed and now she was paying the price. And oh… the price was too high. Without saying a word, she lowered her head defeated and snapped her fingers. The black mist took her away silently.

“Jesus, Regina…”, Emma stepped back once the Dark One left. “I almost believed you.”

“I am sorry… I had to… She had to feel the pain…”, Regina could not even cry. She was just looking at the spot where Pandora was standing a moment before.

“I don’t know who felt the pain better. You, me or her”, Emma stated.

“You…? Why you?”, the brunette shifted her gaze back to the savior.

“I still love you, Regina. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to kiss you while I know it’s not real?”

“I’m… God, I’m sorry…”, the former Evil Queen burst out in tears, feeling terribly sorry about what happened. “I don’t… I don’t want to hurt you… Your feelings…”, she mumbled.

“I know. But please, don’t do this again if you don’t mean it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma is still in love with the Queen.  
> Will she help her get over Pandora?  
> Is this possible?  
> Can Regina forget Pandora?  
> How will Pandora react after the kiss between Emma and Regina?
> 
> We will find out -I hope- soon :))  
> Tell me your opinion!!


	15. Chapter 15

The darkness had already spread like a veil over the roofs of city houses when Pandora sat under a tree on the edge of the hill. The city lights were shining like stars and the forest, behind her, was quiet and gloomy. She had brought her knees close to her chest and she wrapped her arms around her thighs. Tough moments for her. The scene with the kiss was playing over and over again inside her mind, poisoning every cell of hers. She had to let go of Regina. How frustrating was that! Emma could not be Regina’s happy ending! Pandora was. _But you pushed her away with your behavior._ Indeed. Only because Regina was acting like a child. Couldn’t she admit that Pandora had saved her? Was it difficult? Oh, maybe it was. Or maybe she didn’t want to be saved from Pandora. The Dark One. She tittered with that thought. Regina was being foolish. Pandora was still the same but –of course- Regina didn’t want to see it.

“My lady…”, a male voice sounded behind the tree and Pandora stood up at once. It was Epimetheus.

“Is she back?”

“Yes, my lady. Belle is back to her husband”, he assured her and bowed his head respectfully.

“Thank you, Epimetheus”, she nodded.

“Your wish, my command”, he neared her cautiously. “Always.”

“I am the Dark One, now, Epimetheus…”

“So what?”

“I don’t belong to the family of Gods”, said she.

“You were a Goddess for Zeus”, he responded and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes sparkled for one second but then she dropped her gaze on his hand which was resting on her shoulder.

“I am not a Goddess”, she stated. “And I am not a good person, so take your hand off me”, she glared at him.

Epimetheus pulled back his hand and sighed. “Forgive me, my lady. Just…”, he breathed. “Don’t forget what Zeus had said to you when you were a little girl… _If you ever fall in love, fight for it. Love is life and you should live forever…”_

Pandora looked away, thinking about his words. Finally, she waved her hand dismissively like Epimetheus was her servant and cleared her throat.

“I would like to be by myself now. Leave.”

“Of course”, he sighed and walked away, leaving her alone.

 

_A few days later…_

The city streets were empty because it was nighttime and everyone was at home. Pandora was walking down the main street of Storybrooke, playing with a moon flower. Her fingertips were scratching the petals softly while she was singing an old song. The tranquility and the quietness were disturbing. She always loved the noise. The silence caused anxiety to her.

 _“A time for us, someday there'll be… When chains are torn by courage born of a love that's free…”_ , she sang with her divine voice. Little sparkling stars swirled around her, created by the magic of her voice.

 _“A time when dreams, so long denied… Can flourish as we unveil the love we now must hide_ …”, Pandora continued, leaning her head back and facing the dark sky. Butterflies, made by stardust, flew around her and circled her slowly.

 _“A time for us at last to see… A life worthwhile for you and me… And with our love through tears and thorns we will endure as we pass surely through every storm…”_ , she stopped as tears filled her eyes and all the butterflies vanished from around her. She lowered her head and then she saw them. Regina was standing a few meters away along with Emma. The brunette seemed astonished. The female Dark One half smiled but it was completely cold. Let’s better say, broken. She said nothing though.

“Pandora…”, the brunette whispered.

“Let’s go Gina”, Emma grabbed Regina’s wrist tightly.

 _Gina._ Oh, well. That was a payback. Pandora tilted her head to the left side and observed them, still not talking.

“No. I want to talk to her”, the former Evil Queen protested and the savior sighed annoyed.

“You have nothing to say to her!”

“What’s wrong with you?”, Regina looked at Emma, frowning.

“Nothing’s wrong with me. Guess who the problem here is”, Emma glared at Pandora.

The Dark One shrugged indifferently.

“Did the cat ate your tongue?”, Emma scoffed.

“Emma, come on!”, the brunette growled.

Pandora neared Emma slowly with a devilish smile on her flawless face and leaned forward to her face. The fearless savior didn’t move back an inch.

“What did you just said? I didn’t hear you”, the Dark One questioned.

Emma opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out of her lips. Obviously the female Dark One had muted her efficiently. Regina gasped in fear. Emma stepped back with eyes wide open.

“Pandora… don’t do this…”, Regina mumbled, trying to undo the spells with her own magic but it was impossible. “Please, I beg you, give Emma her voice back…”

The white haired female turned to look at Regina and lifted one eyebrow.

“Why don’t you make a deal with me?”, Pandora sized her up.

Regina froze, looking directly into the light blue eyes of the Dark One. _Deals with the Devil? Oh, no thank you._

“I won’t ask anything crazy from you, my Queen”, Pandora faked a smile.

“What do you want?”

“You said you love her. You said that she is everything for you. You said that you don’t love me anymore. Prove it and she’ll get her voice back”, the Dark One stated simply. “Prove it and… and I’ll leave for good. You’ll never see me again.”

Emma grabbed Regina’s hand and nodded, silently, allowing her to do whatever needed to be done for Pandora to leave them alone. Regina glanced at her and gulped, not really wanting to understand the severity of the situation.

“Deal…”, she muttered and Pandora stepped back, crossing her arms under her chest.

The brunette closed the distance between her and Emma and closed her eyes, ready to give a sensual kiss to the savior but her eyes flooded by tears. God, that was crazy! She couldn’t do it. It was an enormous lie! She still loved Pandora, although her lips contacted Emma’s and she heard Pandora’s sorrowful groan. The brunette backed off terrified and she fixed her eyes on the Dark One who cried.

“Not again!”, Pandora sobbed, leaning forward, trying to control her emotions and snapped her trembling fingers, giving back the voice to Emma.

The savior gasped. “You are insane…”, she mumbled.

“Leave me alone! Both of you!”, the female Dark One growled with broken voice and her shaky fingers wiped the tears away from her face.

“No”, the savior glared at her. “You should leave us alone. For good. It was your deal.”

Regina didn’t even look at Emma. Her full attention was focused on Pandora and her heart skipped a beat when she heard about the freaking deal. She would be the reason if Pandora would leave.

“Right”, the white haired female nodded, locking eyes with the former Evil Queen. “We must say goodbye now, my Queen.”

“Pandora, you don’t need to--..”

“Regina, let go of her!”, Emma turned angrily to her.

“Shut up, Emma!”, the brunette shouted enraged and looked at her. “Everything’s a fucking lie! Can’t you see it?! Alright, thank you for helping me but I can’t play with you only because I want to hurt Pandora! I belong to her, whatever it is that she has done! It is my faith and I won’t blame God or anyone else. I want her and I will accept the consequences…”

Emma seemed heartbroken. Tears shimmered in her eyes but she didn’t cry. Only Pandora seemed happy with the change of the facts.

“Alright”, the savior whispered. “But I don’t think she wants you back, Regina. She is still heartless.”

Regina fixed her eyes back to the Dark One and offered a sad smile. “Do you love me?”

Pandora lifted an eyebrow and smiled as she looked at the brunette. “I think you must wait and see…”     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Pandora was singing was the famous "A time for us" from "Romeo and Juliet" movie.  
> Regina, finally, realized that she can't play with Emma and she wants Pandora back.  
> Can she has her back?  
> Will it be easy?  
> What Pandora has in mind -again-?  
> As our white haired Dark One said... "we must wait and see" ;))
> 
> Please, let me know if you like the story and the chapter!!


	16. Chapter 16

_Two weeks later_

_Regina’s mansion_

“I’ll get the milk”, said Emma whilst chewing a piece of bread.

It was a shinny morning and Regina’s mansion had been filled with people. The Charmings were there along with Emma, Henry and Hook. They decided to have breakfast all together, something that especially Snow had missed. The dinner table was full. A jar with coffee, pancakes, toasts, cookies, toasted bread, three kinds of jams, fruits and a plate with omelet.

“Where’s the butter?”, questioned David.

“Oh. Erm… I don’t think I have any”, Regina shrugged.

“Pancakes without butter?”, David frowned. “I won’t eat them.”

“Come on darling…”, Snow laughed. “They are healthier without it.”

Regina just smiled and poured some coffee into her mug. She sipped it carefully cause it was hot and passed the omelet to Henry who was sitting right next to her.

“Thanks mom”, the boy murmured and started eating.

They were eating and talking but Regina couldn’t follow them. Her mind was seriously absent from the conversation about… _God…_ about the napkins and their unquestionable usefulness. She ate some fruits in silence but didn’t touch anything else. She missed her so much… Where was she? No one knew where she was really. Pandora was not acting like a typical Dark One who is lurking around and trying to make deals at any time. She was quiet and absent.

“Regina, I’m talking to you…”, Snow’s voice echoed in the brunette’s mind and she stirred awkwardly. Everybody looked at her.

“I’m listening”, she cleared her throat.

“I doubt that…”, Hook murmured.

“Daydream is a good thing”, Emma smiled.

“Oh God…”, the former Evil Queen rolled her eyes and sighed. “What did you say, Snow?”

“Well…”, Snow exhaled. “I was thinking… Maybe we should build a new playground for the kids. Hm?”

Regina shrugged. “I don’t care. Do whatever you want.”

“You are still the Mayor, Regina”, David arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I believe it’s a great idea!”, the brunette faked a smile and got up, just to avoid further awkward questions.

“Sit down”, Emma said sharply, without even looking at her.

Regina froze, next to her chair. What was that for? She looked at Emma but the savior didn’t bother looking at her.

“I said, sit down and be a part of this family”, the blonde looked up at her. Her blue eyes were spitting fires.

The others said nothing. It was pretty obvious that the whole thing was between Emma and Regina.

“Are you sure you want to do this now?”, the brunette sat on the chair again and crossed her arms.

“Sure, why not?”, the savior smiled coldly. “I know that you’re thinking about Pandora but it’s stupid and unforgivable to treat us like we’re strangers to you!”

Regina’s eyes widened. “Seriously?? All these because I don’t have the mood to talk about napkins and trees??”

“You don’t even care, Regina!”, Emma almost shouted at her. “You said that before!”

“No, I don’t care about playgrounds!”, she growled. “I have better things to c--..”

“OF COURSE!!”, the blonde stood up, enraged. “You have better things to care about now!!”

“Emma!!”, Snow interfered and both of them stopped shouting but they were looking at each other with fury.    

“I’m done”, said the brunette and went poker-faced. She threw her napkin on the table and walked off the dining room.

“Emma, that was not very polite…”, Snow said in low voice and the blonde looked at her.

“Mom, you know I’m right. She has to be...”, she trailed off with a deep sigh, scratching her forehead. “She has to be here for us…”

“For you…”, Hook starred at her sadly.

“Just leave me alone…”, Emma mumbled and stormed off the room.

The others just looked at each other without saying anything.

 

…………………………………………………………………..

 

It was a day monotonous and colorless for the Dark One. The first faint trace of irritation had appeared and changed her mood when she literally opened her eyes after the night sleep. Pandora was living in a small wooden house into the depths of the forest. The first thing she thought about when she woke up was Regina. Two weeks had passed since the last time she saw her.

The Dark One pulled herself up from the bed and changed clothes in a blink of an eye. She walked out of the house and looked around. The sun was bright but it was still cold outside. Nearby it was a river. The water was crystal clear and a squirrel was there, playing with the water.

“It was not very difficult to find you after all”, a familiar voice sounded from behind Pandora and the woman turned around to face the intruder.

“Henry…”

“I didn’t want to disturb you…”, he shrugged. “I just want to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”

“Not a problem”, she nodded. “Let’s go inside.”

“No. I prefer here.”

“Alright. What happened?”

“My mom… Regina. She misses you.”

Pandora looked away. “I thought something terrible happened.”

“It’s serious, Pandora. You don’t understand. You are not the only one who changed”, the boy neared her cautiously. “She has changed too. The problem is that she doesn’t care about anything anymore.”

“This is not my problem”, her expression hardened as she shifted her light blue gaze back to him.

“Of course it is, Dark One”, he narrowed his eyes without any fear. “She is my mother and you screwed up everything!”

Pandora rolled her eyes. “Why are you even here? Do you want a deal?”

“I want to give you a chance before I change the story.”

“…What?”, her eyes widened.

“I can make you disappear so easily. Don’t make me”, Henry warned her.

The female Dark One extended her hand and tried to summon the enchanted quill but she failed. “Damn it!”

“You can try all day but you won’t succeed anything. My mother has it and it’s under a very powerful protection spell”, he explained.

“I don’t want to lose Regina…”, she mumbled as she looked around completely lost. “I don’t know who I am anymore…”

“I can help.”

“How…?”

“You are suppose to be the pure evil”, Henry let out a deep sigh. “If you still have the jar, then you will be able to trap everything dangerous inside –including your darkest powers- and then…”, he paused for only a second. “Then you must destroy the contents.”

Pandora shook her head in disbelief. “You are absolutely crazy…”, she muttered. “I am evil. I created the wickedness. If I destroy these dark powers, I’ll die.”

“It’s a risk you should take.”

 _Risk._ Pandora remembered Hope’s and Zeus’ sayings. That was the true risk. Although, she was absolutely sure that she would die in the end. It was merely impossible to destroy the dark powers without hurting herself. On the other hand, she had to sacrifice herself for the woman she loved. She could feel that Regina was not alright and that was only the beginning. Things could be really dangerous if Pandora wouldn’t do anything to put an end to all these.

“I’ll do it…”, she finally said with a deep sigh. The boy gave a half smile. “But I need you to help me with something.”

“What is it?”

“Find Hope and tell her what I am about to do…”, she shifted her attention back to the river. “I want her to get my body back to Olympus after my death…”

“You won’t die, Pandora…”, he mumbled, staring at her.

“I will...”, she squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh trust me, I will. If my body remains untouched, she will get me back to my place… This is her only task”, she opened her eyes and looked at him. “Can you do it?”

Henry nodded silently.

“Thank you…”, she smiled sadly. “And don’t say anything to anyone until we’re done with our purpose.”

“Alright…”, he lowered his gaze, feeling bad. “I am sorry, Pandora but this is the only way to--..”

“To help Regina and everyone else”, she completed his sentence. Henry just nodded without looking at her. “I know, darling… I know…”, she turned her back to him. “Now, go and find Hope.”

Some moments later she heard footsteps and she realized that the boy was leaving. When silence returned and she remained alone her eyes flooded with tears.

“Oh, Regina…”, she mumbled with muffled voice as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I knew that… that you would be… my death…”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are close to the end... but will this end be happy?  
> Regina is not herself anymore and Pandora will sarcifice her life to save her.   
> What will happen next?  
> Can anyone help them?  
> We will find out in the next chapter...
> 
> Please, comment :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are close to the end. Pandora wants to sacrifice her life for Regina's good. Will it be easy? Of course not. Will Regina find out? Can Hope actually help Pandora with her plan? Let's see....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me SO long but I managed to write a new chapter. It was not easy, I swear. I didn't know how to continue with the plot but I had a weird dream some nights ago and it helped me with the story. I know, it's boring when you are waiting for someone to upload the damn story and he/she doesn't but I wanted to write something good. I think I did :)  
> Comment please!

“Pandora!!”

Hope’s voice echoed around the silent forest. It was nighttime when Hope reached the forest, searching for Pandora’s house. The Dark One was sitting next to the river in a lotus position, watching the water. During the daytime, Pandora had all the time to find everything she needed to eliminate the darkness.

“Oh, there you are…”, Hope mumbled when she appeared behind some trees and saw Pandora. The Dark One didn’t even move. She kept staring at the running water.

“I guess Henry told you everything about my plan”, she finally spoke after a good minute or two.

Hope moved closer to her and sat down beside her. “I disagree, Pandora.”

“I don’t really care”, she declared, without looking at her. “I care about Regina. She’s not okay. She suffers because of me. I must help her.”

“By killing yourself?”

“It’s the only way, Hope.”

“You’re not thinking clearly…”, the redhead shook her head, sighing.

“Listen…”, Pandora turned and grabbed Hope’s hands. Her eyes burned with pain. “Everything we need is here. The jar, the stardust, the book of spells, the dagger, the vial with my blood and…”, she paused.

“Your heart…”, Hope said with difficulty. “Pandora… Don’t…”

“I have to…”, she faked a smile. “But you must help me.”

Hope looked away. Tears shone in her eyes.

“Please, Hope. I can’t do it without your help…”, Pandora squeezed her hands. “You must kill me…”

“My name is Hope for a reason!”, the woman glared at her but pain dawned on her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “If I kill you then hope will die forever!”

“You can’t see it…”, Pandora whispered more to herself. “I am the one who is killing hope with my presence. You will help so many people by killing me. The darkness is nothing more but a curse. Kill me and give life to them.”

“You changed…”, Hope mumbled, staring at her.

“I fell in love…”

“I’ll help you…”, the redhead lowered her head, defeated.

Recognition dawned on Pandora’s face. It was official. She wound die for them. For the light magic. For Regina. That was more than okay, actually. Her jaw tightened. It was time for actions. She stood up and Hope followed her up as well.

“Let’s do this. Now”, she stated and walked up to her house.

 

………………………………………………………….

 

The rounded table was ready. Five candles, the book of spells on the left, the jar on the right, the vial with her blood on top, the stardust on the lower side and an empty small wooden box in the center, next to the dagger.

“I want to ask you something before we start”, Hope looked at her.

“Go on.”

“Why?”

“Why, what?”

“Why are you doing this? Really.”

Pandora smiled faintly. “For Regina. She’s everything to me. She deserves happiness. I’m a sly creature; evil to the bone. I can’t change even if I try. I thought…”, she trailed off. “I thought… I would never fall in love. I was in love with myself. I am responsible for humanity’s ill feelings. Hatred, repulsion, irritation, rage, despair, emptiness, agony, panic, rejection and death… I must stop myself before I destroy everything good. I can see it now. Zeus was trying to help me. I should have listened to him when he told me not to open the jar. But of course I disobeyed… I was so selfish. I wanted to rule the entire world. Even some time ago when I became the Dark One. I wanted to be equal with Regina. That was so stupid of me… I thought magic would help me understand her. The thing I never managed to get was that she was good. She was not the Evil Queen anymore. She was the light in my darkness…”, Pandora stared at the candle lights.

“I see…”, Hope nodded. Sadness clouded her features. “Does she know?”

“No”, the Dark One shook her head. “She has no idea about my plans. It’s better that way. She will find out when I die.”

“It won’t be easy, Pandora…”

“I know. Start reading the spell.”

“Alright…”, Hope let out a deep sigh and got the book in her hands.

 

_“You, dark angels and guardians of the night, hear us_

_The eternal leaders of magic._

_This one night, one of the dark lords surrenders without a fight to the brilliant magic of light._

_Here this night, the dagger of darkness is being destroyed completely._

_Here this night, the heart of the beast stops beating.”_

Hope looked up at Pandora and the latter nodded knowingly. She removed her heart with her own hand and placed it inside the small wooden box. The heart was black but a small part of it was deep red.

 

_“Oh, you angels of the world, come here and destroy all the black magic._

_Release the light to surge again in the world._

_Forever extinguish the beating of the heart of darkness.”_

In that moment, Pandora felt a piercing pain, so strong like her vitals were being torn. She gritted her teeth, gasping and fell to her knees. The heart inside the wooden box caught fire.

“Oh, Gods…”, Hope didn’t know what to do. She was completely shocked. Pandora was so close to death. “Zeus, help her…”, she muttered.

“URGHHHH!!”, Pandora screamed, feeling unable to control herself. The pain was unbearable. “Make it… stop… Please…”, she begged.

Hope dropped the book and ran to her. She fell down and caught the Dark One in her arms, holding her close.

“Destroy my heart!!!”, Pandora cried out, trying really hard not to go crazy. She was feeling like her soul was literally breaking into a thousand pieces. Imagine that.

“I can’t do this…”, she mumbled, crying like a child. “I can’t do this… I can’t do this… REGINA??? What are you doing here?!”

 _What?! Regina?? Here??!_ The Dark One had no strength to look around. Her vision was blurry.

“Damn you, Hope…”, Pandora whispered. “Stab the fucking heart now…”

“You two are crazy!!”, Gold’s voice sounded. He was there too. Oh, perfect.

“I can’t anymore…”, Pandora surrendered to pain and suffer and fainted.

“Oh God, is she alive??”, Regina ran to her immediately.

“I think…”, Hope stuttered. “I… think… she fainted…”

The brunette turned her murderous gaze to Hope slowly and grabbed her from the neck tightly. “Save her or else I will rip your heart, you stupid wench!!”

Hope was seriously choking.

“Let’s all calm down, shall we?”, Gold spoke. “Her heart is on fire and we have only a few minutes before she dies.”

“The Black Fairy…”, Regina pushed away Hope violently and looked up at him.

“Are you out of your mind?”, he narrowed his eyes. “We can’t summon her.”

“Actually… we can!”, Hope coughed, rubbing her neck. “Regina is right. She is the only one who can save Pandora and pass all the dark powers to…”, she glanced at Gold.

“To him!”, Regina pointed at Gold. “Right! You will be the Dark One again!”

“You seem happy about it, your majesty”, he smirked.

“Trust me, I would do anything to save Pandora… I don’t care about you”, she stood up.

Hope pulled herself up and looked at Gold. “Stab her heart with the dagger.”

“WHAT?!”, Regina growled.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan”, Hope actually grinned. “I will read a spell, then he will stab Pandora’s heart but she won’t die because the Black Fairy will already be here!”

“I don’t understand”, Regina frowned. “Why would the Black Fairy help Pandora?”

“Think about the possibilities, Regina”, Hope tried to explain. “The Black Fairy is evil. She needs evil people in the magical world and if Pandora dies, she will lose one of the most trustworthy companions. On the other hand, Rumpelstiltskin is her son and he was one of the greatest Dark Ones. She won’t let them die.”

“Even if you’re right, Pandora will remain evil after she wakes up”, Regina sighed.

“No, she won’t”, Hope gave a lopsided grin. “The Black Fairy has no idea about Zeus’ actions on Pandora. When the powers of the Dark One leave her body, she will no longer have magic powers. At all.”

“Pandora won’t be happy about that…”, the brunette shifted her gaze back to her partner who was still on the floor.

“Neither will the Black Fairy”, Hope shrugged.

“Hope”, Gold looked at his watch. “Start now. Quickly. We don’t have much time.”

“Alright…”, Hope took a deep breath and shut her eyes, knowing exactly which spell she needed to do.

 

 _“You dark clouds of night and sky stars, call the Black Fairy_ ,

_The mother of evil, the dark Queen of terror…_

_Inform her that two of the dark angels die_

_One of whom is her son…_

_The other is the daughter of her heart…_

_Come here, ruler of Evil and save them…_

_Come, Black Fairy…_

_Come…”_

Hope opened her eyes and they were black. So black like two pieces of carbon.

“Stab the heart, now…”, she mumbled and Gold did it.

“But!!!”, Regina was confused. They had to wait. The Black Fairy had not come.

He stabbed the flaming heart and he disappeared instantly. The moment Gold was gone, Hope’s eyes turned back to normal and she pulled herself out of the spell.

“What happened?!”, she questioned, kind of lost.

“You… told him to stab the heart… The Black Fairy is not here…”, Regina knelt down next to Pandora.

Hope covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes widened. Obviously she had no idea.

“Fatal mistake…”, tears shimmered in Regina’s eyes and she paled like all the blood had drained from her face. “Gold knew it… I bet he knew it from the very first moment that his mother would not help…”

Hope let all her weight pull her down to the floor. Her knees hit the wooden surface of the floor as she literally sank her teeth into the flesh of her palm.

“She is dead…”, the brunette mumbled as she leaned over Pandora’s body and put her cheek against her chest. Millions of tears ran down her cheeks as she moaned in despair. “SHE IS DEAD!!!”, she cried out and sobbed, grabbing tightly with both hands Pandora’s body. Regina had covered Pandora’s body with her own.

“No… It can’t be…”, Hope managed to stutter. That was unreal. Gathering all her strength, Hope stood up trembling and walked up to the table where Pandora’s heart was. When she looked at it, her stomach swirled. The heart had been split into two pieces. Two lifeless and black pieces. Hope’s hand was shaking when she extended it to get the heart but two delicate hands reached the heart first. Hope looked up, alarmed. The person who was holding Pandora’s heart was…

“I can’t believe you are actually here…”, Hope muttered in shock. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gold found a way to trick them. Who came to save -or kill- Pandora? Friend or foe? Will she live?  
> We shall wait to find out... :)
> 
> Note: The spells are all mine. They came out of my imagination.


	18. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, guys :)) I'm proud I finished the story but... because I adore Pandora and Regina, I will try to write a series of one-shot stories with their life together! Would you like that?? Please, tell me your opinion! :)

Regina heard Hope’s murmur and shifted her head to her direction, looking up.

“Who is she??”, the brunette jumped up, worried. That woman was not the Black Fairy.

“She…”, Hope stuttered, starring at the female. “She is…”, she gulped. “Oh, Gods…”, she dropped to her knees and lowered her head out of respect. “Welcome to our world, mighty Hecate.”

 _Hecate??_ The former Queen pulled herself up and wiped the tears away from face, looking at the newcomer. She had read about her. Hecate was an Underworld Goddess. The female in front of her was tall and slim. She was dressed in a knee-length maiden’s skirt and hunting boots. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun and a pair of golden eyes scrutinized the place. _Spooky._

“Stand up, Hope”, spoke Hecate. Her voice was eerie. “Introduce me to the lady.”

The redhead hastened to stand up but Regina growled.

“Are you fucking serious??”, she hissed. “Both of you! Pandora is dying and you want to know my name?!”

“Actually, Pandora is already dead”, Hecate tilted her head. “There’s no need to be rube, darling.”

“She is… She is dead…”, the brunette brought her hands to her head and pressed her skull really hard.

Hope was fighting back tears. “Can’t we… can’t we save her…?”

“Everything’s your fault, Hope!”, Hecate glared at the redhead. “The spells were wrong, your mind was not clear and above all things, you should not even think to call the Black Fairy! She is useless! She doesn’t even care about Pandora!”

“But…”, Hope lowered her gaze, trembling. “She didn’t show up…”

“Stupid girl…”, the Goddess shook her head, disappointed. “Who the hell do you think it was inside of you when you lost contact with reality?? Your eyes blackened! You let Rumpelstiltskin stab the heart! SHE WAS INSIDE OF YOU! She guided you!”

Regina was shocked. The Black Fairy helped her son and killed Pandora.

“How… how do you know everything?”, the former Queen managed to talk.

Hecate fixed her fiery gaze on her. “I am the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. I am the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom I received my power over heaven, earth, and sea”, she explained and continued. “I am Persephone’s minister and as you know, Persephone is the goddess Queen of Underworld. Ex wife of Hades. When Pandora died, she came to Underworld and Persephone informed me about what happened. The humans need years to realize a situation, we need milliseconds.”

“Why are you here, my lady?”, Hope dared to look up at her.

“I am here because Pandora doesn’t belong to the Underworld.”

Regina frowned, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“I will revive her” Hecate arched an eyebrow.

“Not even Hades can do such thing…”, the brunette looked away.

“He can but he doesn’t want to”, the Goddess looked at Pandora’s dead heart in her hands. “I can do this only if you help me, Regina.”

“Of course…”, the former Queen snapped her head to Hecate’s direction. “Anything. I would do anything…”

“I need your heart.”

Regina didn’t even wait for further instructions. She removed her heart from her chest with her bare hand and handed it to the Goddess.

Hope was watching in awe. “She didn’t even think about it for a second…”, she mumbled to herself.

“That’s why I’m sure it’s going to work out”, Hecate smiled to Hope, then looked at Regina’s bright red heart. A small part was still black though. “So, Regina…”, she turned to the former Queen. “I’m going to--..”

“I don’t want to know”, she cut her off. “Just do it.”

Hecate nodded and walked to the rounded table. She placed the two pieces of Pandora’s heart there and held in her hands Regina’s heart carefully. With a deep breath she split the heart into two pieces and placed one of them on the table. Afterwards, she took one piece of Pandora’s dead heart and connected it with Regina’s half. She did the same thing with the other two pieces as well.

“Oh, dear Zeus…”, Hope suddenly grinned. “Now Pandora is going to live only because of Regina’s heart…”

“That’s right”, Hecate took the hearts in her hands and turned around to face the others. “Regina. You will have a piece of Pandora’s heart collided in yours and she will have a piece of yours collided in hers. Otherwise, I can’t revive her.”

“I am more than fine with that…”, she smiled softly.

“Be ready…”, Hecate neared her and Regina shut her eyes. The next moment the Goddess pushed the heart inside the brunette’s chest and a piercing pain spread quickly.

“Urgh…”, the former Queen groaned. She was slightly dizzy, like the blood in her veins was trying to revive a dead organ. Her heart was beating but so slowly.

“Give it time…”, Hecate grabbed her from her shoulders. “Breath…”

 _Breath-in, breath-out, in, out, in… out. Oh. Wow._ The feeling was good. It was actually great. She felt warmth; love… She felt like Pandora was inside of her.

Hecate moved her hand and touched lightly Regina’s chest to feel the heartbeat. She grinned and placed the other heart into Regina’s hand. “Give life to Pandora…”

Regina looked at the heart and smiled widely. She walked up to Pandora’s body and knelt down to the floor next to her. Her hands were trembling. Oh, that was new! Swallowing hard, she pushed the heart inside Pandora’s chest and… waited. One second, two seconds, three… four, five. Regina looked up at Hecate as her smile faded. Hecate ran to them and dropped down to her knees.

“She should have woken up by now…”, the Goddess mumbled. “What happened??”

The former Queen leaned over Pandora’s body and placed her ear on the woman’s chest. “The heart is not beating…”

Hecate seemed lost. “It should have worked…”

“It didn’t…”, Regina was devastated. She wanted to scream and cry like there was no tomorrow but she had not the strength anymore. “I’ve lost her…”

The Goddess stood up and walked up to Hope. “We should leave them alone…”

“But…”, Hope starred at her, hopelessly. “Is it certain, we can’t--..”

“No, my dear”, Hecate shook her head sadly. “We can’t. Only Regina could save her.”

The Goddess pushed Hope softly out of the room but the door remained open in case Regina needed them.

The brunette lay down next to her dead partner and pulled the lifeless body into her tight embrace. She shut her eyes and inhaled the familiar smell of Pandora’s hair.

“This is not a goodbye, my darling…”, she whispered, her mouth touching lightly Pandora’s hair. “Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy… Thank you for loving me…”, her voice broke into a thousand pieces. She couldn’t take it. No one could take such thing. “Pandora…”, she whispered her name with reverence. “Nothing seemed so bright except for your smile… I love you so much… I thought we would be together until the end of the world but… but now you left me all alone and how can you expect me to live without you?”, she paused. Her body was shaking and she was feeling cold. So cold… like ice had covered her whole body. She pulled her head back a bit so she could look at Pandora’s pale face. “I love you… I love you more than words can describe… I love you more than anything…”, she sobbed, stroking Pandora’s white hair. “I will always be yours, Pandora…”, mumbled the brunette before she leaned closer to Pandora’s face and her trembling lips connected with Pandora’s for only some seconds. _Some crucial seconds._

“URGHHH!!!!”

Regina, with eyes wide open, pulled back in genuine shock. Pandora was groaning in pain! SHE WAS ALIVE! Hecate and Hope burst into the room when they heard the noise.

“What happened??”, Hope literally screamed, worried.

“True love’s kiss…”, Hecate smirked and crossed her arms around her chest.

Pandora sat up, coughing and shaking like she was drowning. Regina hastened to embrace her.

“Take it easy, honey…”, she encouraged her. “It will pass in a while…”

“How.. What.. Why am… am I alive??”, Pandora looked at Regina terrified.

“You have half of my heart…”, the brunette smiled softly. “And I have half of yours.”

“You saved me…”, the white haired female was now looking at her partner lovingly.

“I love you…”, Regina couldn’t hold back herself anymore. She pressed her lips against Pandora’s with force, kissing the breath out of her.

Pandora didn’t see that coming but she was happy to return the kiss with great pleasure. After all she had missed her girlfriend so much.

Hecate giggled. “I think we should leave…”

“Did you just… giggle?”, Hope arched an eyebrow.

Hecate stared at her, deadpan and blank-eyed, with no answering flicker of a smile.

“Dear Gods…”, Hope mumbled in terror. “Alright, let’s better go…”

Hecate nodded and snapped her fingers, taking away Hope and herself from the world of humans.

“Oh…”, Pandora broke the kiss, breathlessly. “They are gone…”

“Thankfully!”, Regina smiled playfully. “I want to show you how much I’ve missed you…”

“Let’s go back to your house then, madame…”

Regina just smiled, without saying anything.

“What?”

“I’m happy you’re alive…”, Regina sighed.

“I love you…”, Pandora smiled softly.

“I love you too…”

 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end... love always wins!  
> Am I right?  
> Comment please! I would appreciate that! :))


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